Clinical trials, designed to help study the safety and effectiveness of new cancer treatments, represent new possibilities. Patients who qualify receive new therapeutic protocols before they are approved as standard therapy.

Cancer patients who enroll in clinical trials are not "experiments" or guinea pigs, they are a vital part of the ongoing campaign to improve cancer treatments. Chemotherapy and other treatments for cancer will continue to advance thanks to those who participate in clinical trials. Unfortunately, only 2 percent of adults with cancer participate in clinical trials. Approximately 70 percent of all children diagnosed with cancer are enrolled in such studies, which is one of the reasons we've seen so many advances in treatment for these young patients. We need to encourage more adults to participate in clinical trials, and make it easier for them to find out about the studies. These carefully controlled and monitored studies offer a new world of potential and hope.

Between the time they emerge from the laboratory and their routine use on cancer patients, investigational therapies go through the following phases:

• Phase I studies, which generally involve a small number of people, are the first studies on humans. The goal is to see if the treatment is safe, if it has harmful side effects, and how it is best administered. If the results are positive, researchers move on to phase II.
  
  
• Phase II studies are designed to measure the new therapy’s effectiveness in fighting cancer. Only a small number of participants are used. If benefit is demonstrated, it moves on to phase III.
  
  
• Phase III studies examine how the new therapy compares to standard treatments, the "benchmark" for measuring and evaluating new and improved possibilities in treating cancer. These trials may involve hundreds of participants at different hospitals and research centers.
  
  
• In Phase IV studies, the new research becomes an accepted standard treatment in the arsenal used to fight cancer.

Is a clinical trial right for you? Perhaps. For many patients who have already tried existing standard therapies, clinical trials offer additional hope. Participants also know that they are contributing a great deal to help others, down the road. I often think about the people who were among the first to test the chemotherapy that ultimately helped me. Those enrolled in clinical trials are often part of a national effort. These studies involve many patients in different areas and allow physicians and researchers to share and exchange information. But before participating in a clinical trial, it's important to understand its purpose, benefits, risks and side effects. You will be asked to sign an informed consent. However, you are free to leave the study at any time.

		Vital Options produces a series of brochures, The Professor & the Survivor®, to humanize the clinical trial experience. Currently, there are two brochures in the series, one on colorectal cancer and one on breast cancer. To help decide if a clinical trial is right for you, visit The Professor & The Survivor website.

Remember that investigational therapies and trials are not always completely covered by health insurance and HMOs. Be sure to discuss this with your doctor as you evaluate your possible participation in a clinical study.

Specific clinical trials that may be of interest to cancer patients are available in many hospitals and clinics throughout the United States. Several online resources currently exist for helping patients and their families find specific clinical trials. It is important to search several sources for information because no single listing service lists all the currently available clinical trials. High-quality resources that represent a wide range of available clinical trials are included in the Clinical Trials Links at the top right of this page.

In addition, Vital Options is pleased to list the clinical trials below at the request of the trial sponsors.

		Intraoperative Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer Treatment Location: USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Hospital. Target Population: Person diagnosed with infiltrating ductal carcinoma measuring 3cm or less; 40 years old or older; breast cancer must be treatable with lumpectomy or segmentectomy; no lymph metastasis. Goal: To evaluate partial breast radiotherapy given during surgery as an alternative to conventional whole breast radiotherapy after surgery. Sponsor: USC Division of Tumor and Endocrine Surgery Contact: Dennis Holmes, MD; 323-865-3105 Notes: For additional information, please go to www.targittrial.com

		Physical Activity Research Study Location: Online based. Target Population: Childhood cancer survivors who are currently at least 18 years of age. Goal: To learn more about physical activity in young adults who had cancer when they were children or teenagers. Sponsor: University of Illinois at Chicago Contact: Lorna Finnegan; 800-586-0921; lornaf@uic.edu Notes: Please visit this website for additional information.

		Familial Kidney Cancer Research Study Location: Any location. Target Population: Ashkenazi Jewish families with two or more members affected by kidney cancer. Goal: To help identify genes that may contribute to the development of kidney cancer. Sponsor: National Cancer Institute (NCI) - Urologic Oncology Branch and the Laboratory of Immunobiology at Frederick Cancer Research Facility. Contact: Call Dr. Berton Zbar 800-949-6704 Notes: Please visit this website for additional information. Participation in this study requires the completion of a family medical history questionnaire.

		Fertility and Breast Cancer Research Study Location: Online based. Target Population: Women between the ages of 18 and 45 with breast cancer and fertility concerns. Goal: To evaluate the association between Internet-based information and support resources on knowledge, social support, and quality of life. Also, the usefulness of the educational materials will be determined and used to help design and provide more timely information for younger women regarding fertility and childbearing in the future. Sponsor: Young Survival Coalition and Living Beyond Breast Cancer; funded by a grant from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Contact: FertilityAndCancerProject.org Notes: After registering, you will have 8 questionnaires to fill out. It should take less than 30 minutes. You will then have access to Internet-based educational materials and other support resources related to fertility and breast cancer. After reviewing the educational materials and using the resources, you will be asked to fill out the questionnaires a second time.

		Thyroid Cancer Study Location: Any location Target Population: Older than 16 years of age and recently diagnosed with papillary or follicular thyroid cancer Goal: To test if the success rate of eliminating all remaining thyroid tissue by a low dose of radiation from radioactive iodine (131-I) can be improved by adding a study medication. Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (NIH) Contact: http://clinicaltrials.gov 1-800-411-1222 Notes: One group of patients will receive lithium (the study medication) and the other group will receive a placebo (a pill that neither harms nor helps). All study-related tests and medications are provided at no cost.