I read an article few days ago regarding the mesothelioma cancer clinical trials somewhere from the internet. The article was all about studies of new treatments in patients who are diagnosed with the mesothelioma cancer.
These treatments are most often new chemotherapy drugs, or sometimes surgery in combination with a drug treatment. Researchers perform a clinical trial when there is some reason to believe that the treatment under evaluation may aid patients. In general researchers perform clinical trials to determine whether a treatment works, whether it is more effective then existing treatments, whether the side effects are too severe to justify the treatments use, and which patients benefit most from the treatment. At any given time, there are usually between 15 to 20 active clinical trials throughout the world investigating new therapies for mesothelioma cancer. Researchers are conducting more than half of those trials in the United States.
While being treated for mesothelioma cancer, a doctor may suggest that a patient look into a clinical trial. Though this does not mean that the patient has no other hope, the patient should be aware of the risks associated with clinical trials. No one knows in advance if the treatment will work or exactly what side effects will occur.
Researchers conduct clinical trials in steps called phases. Each phase answers certain questions. Clinical trials are usually classified into one of three phases.
Phase I trials evaluate how doctors should administer a new drug (i.e. by mouth, injected into the blood, or injected into the muscle), how often, and at what dose. A Phase I trial usually enrolls only a small number of patients, sometimes as few as a dozen.
Phase II trials continue to test the safety of the drug, and begin to evaluate how well the new drug works. Phase II studies usually narrow the focus to a particular type of cancer.
Phase III trials test a new drug, a new combination of drugs, or a new surgical procedure compared to the current standard therapy. Researchers assign participants to the standard group or the new group at random. Phase III trials often enroll large numbers of people and may be conducted at many doctors' offices, clinics, and cancer centers nationwide.
The benefit of participating in a clinical trial is that a patient can receive a treatment that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve and they may be of substantial benefit. Additionally studies have shown that mesothelioma patients that participate in clincial trials tend to live longer and received better care than those who do not partcipate.
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