There are many great opportunities to get involved in clinical
research trials for cancer, and specifically for adenocarcinoma of the
lung. Clinical trials are research
studies involving people. These are studies that originally began in a lab, and
have taken the proper steps to be passed from animal subjects to human
ones. Cancer clinical trials are designed
to use new drugs and/or surgery or radiation techniques to test ways to treat,
diagnose, prevent and manage or prevent symptoms of the certain cancer under
investigation.1 Many current
treatments today were past clinical trials that had been successful. A professional in the research field will run
the clinical trial very strictly. These
usually are doctors, and they are referred to as the Principle Investigator.1 Before you get involved in a study you will
be given the trial’s protocols along with a detailed outline of the plans
revolving this trial. This includes the
reason the study is being done, who can join the study, how many people are
needed for the study at this time, the drugs, dosage and frequency of
treatments you will receive, the medical tests you will get and frequency of
these tests and what information will be observed and gathered about you
personally.1 In order to be
picked to be part of a clinical trial you must meet the strict criteria for the
study. In addition, the Principle Investigator
will use randomization to pick his subjects, so there is an equal opportunity
to be chosen to participate for all who want to enter the study. 1 There
typically are two groups involved in a clinical study, a control group, or the
people receiving the new treatment and the placebo group, or the group that
does not receive the new treatment.1 There are four main phases of
clinical trials, however most participants are not involved in every
phase. In addition, a participant may
wait until the clinical trial has reached a certain stage before wanting to be
involved.
1. Phase One
a.
This phase requires 15-30 people
in order to get started. The goal of
this phase is to find a safe dosage and to see how the treatment should be
given. In addition, this phase is used to see how the new treatment affects the
human body.3
2. Phase Two
a.
Phase two will be looking for
less than 100 people to be involved in the trials. This phase is designed to determine if the
treatment has an affect on the cancer being studied. It also will help doctors see how the
treatment affects the human body. 3
3. Phase Three
a.
The third phase of a clinical
trial will need 100 to several thousand participants. It is mainly used to compare the new
treatment to the standard treatment currently used. 3
4. Phase Four
a.
The final phase of a clinical
trial requires several hundred to several thousand people. Phase four further assesses the long-term
safety and effectiveness of the new treatment. 3
There are many pros to being involved in a cancer clinical
trial. First, clinical trials offer. Clinical
trials offer high-quality cancer care. If you are in a randomized
study and do
not receive the new treatment being tested, you will receive the best-known
standard treatment. This may be as good as, or better than, the new approach. Next,
if a new treatment is proven to work and you are receiving it, you may be among
the first to benefit.1 By looking at all your treatment
choices, including clinical trials, you know that are taking an active role in your
care. Finally, even if you do not physically benefit from the study you will
have been involved in the most crucial part of cancer research and will have
helped those in the future who suffer from your same disease. 2
Of course, there are also cons to clinical trials, which I would
like to discuss with you as well. New treatments under study are not always
better than, or even as good as, the standard care. If you are part of the
placebo group that receives the standard care instead of the new treatment
being tested, it may not be as effective as the new approach.1 Also, new treatments could have side effects
that doctors do not expect or that are worse than those of the current
treatments. Finally, health insurance may not cover all patient care costs in a
study. The coverage varies by plan and by study. To find out
in advance what
costs are likely to be covered, check with your insurance company and the
billing staff at the hospital or doctor’s office. 2
Here are some links to help you find clinical studies that you
may or may not want to be a part of!
Works Cited
1. Finding a Clinical Trial. (2015,
April). Retrieved June 26, 2015, from Cancer.Net website:
http://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/how-cancer-treated/clinical-trials/
finding-clinical-trial
2. Deciding
to participate in a clinical trial. (2013, November). Retrieved June 26, 2015,
from
Cancer.Net website:
http://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/how-cancer-treated/
clinical-trials/deciding-participate-clinical-trial
3. Clinical
Trial Phases. (2008, April 18). Retrieved June 26, 2015, from
ClinicalTrials.gov website:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/ctphases.html
4. Clinical Trial [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://gpdfoundation.com/research/
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