Clinical Trials Staff
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Robin Rosdhal, RN, OCN
336-713-6509
Rebecca Bishop, RN
336-713-6518
Margaret Crowley, LPN
336-716-6627
Laura Gilliam, RN
336-713-6907
Donella Edwards
336-713-6912
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A clinical trial is one of the final stages of a long and careful cancer research process. Studies are done with cancer patients to find out whether promising approaches to cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment are safe and effective.
· Treatment trials test new treatments (like a new cancer drug, new approaches to surgery or radiation therapy, new combinations of treatments, or new methods such as gene therapy). See Taking Part in Clinical Trials: What Cancer Patients Need to Know.
· Prevention trials test new approaches, such as medicines, vitamins, minerals, or other supplements that doctors believe may lower the risk of a certain type of cancer. These trials look for the best way to prevent cancer in people who have never had cancer or to prevent cancer from coming back or a new cancer occuring in people who have already had cancer. See Understanding Prevention Trials for additional information, as well as Taking Part in Clinical Trials: Cancer Prevention Studies.
· Screening trials test the best way to find cancer, especially in its early stages. See Understanding Screening Trials for additional information.
· Quality of Life trials (also called Supportive Care trials) explore ways to improve comfort and quality of life for cancer patients. See Understanding Supportive Care Trials for additional information.
Most clinical research that involves the testing of a new drug progresses in an orderly series of steps, called phases. This allows researchers to ask and answer questions in a way that results in reliable information about the drug and protects the patients. Clinical trials are usually classified into one of three phases:
- Phase I trials: These first studies in people evaluate how a new drug should be given (by mouth, injected into the blood, or injected into the muscle), how often, and what dose is safe. A phase I trial usually enrolls only a small number of patients, sometimes as few as a dozen.
- Phase II trials: A phase II trial continues to test the safety of the drug, and begins to evaluate how well the new drug works. Phase II studies usually focus on a particular type of cancer.
- Phase III trials: These studies test a new drug, a new combination of drugs, or a new surgical procedure in comparison to the current standard. A participant will usually be assigned to the standard group or the new group at random (called randomization). Phase III trials often enroll large numbers of people and may be conducted at many doctors' offices, clinics, and cancer centers nationwide.
Information from: http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/learning/what-is-a-clinical-trial