Summary and Conclusions

In This Section:

• Clinical Trials
• Finding Clinical Trials
• Additional Resources

Summary and Conclusions

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are finding ways to use targeted therapies to effectively treat cancer. Since dozens of new, innovative targeted therapies have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), clinical trials may be the only opportunity for patients to access them at present. Unfortunately, only 3 percent of adults with cancer choose this route and enroll in clinical trials.

A recent study has indicated that 65 percent of patients would have been receptive to clinical trial enrollment if they had been made aware of the option at the time of initial diagnosis.

Eighty-seven percent of patients would consider participating in a clinical trial if their initial treatment failed.

Physicians have the responsibility to talk to their patients about clinical trials and help them identify appropriate trials if the patients are interested.

Finding Clinical Trials

There are targeted therapies for cancer in all phases of clinical study. Many of these targeted therapies target the cellular processes discussed in this tutorial.

To do your own search for clinical trials, visit the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Web site at http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials, where you can find clinical trials run by many different cancer centers around the country.

Alternatively, you can search for trials being conducted at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland at http://bethesdatrials.cancer.gov.

Searches for clinical trials can also be performed at the NIH Web site http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, which contains information about clinical trials sponsored by the NCI, pharmaceutical companies, medical centers, and other groups from around the world.

Additional Resources

Additional information about cancer clinical trials can be found on the NCI Web site at http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials.

For answers to additional questions about cancer, contact NCI’s Cancer Information Service (CIS). The CIS offers comprehensive research-based information for patients and their families, health professionals, cancer researchers, advocates, and the public, as well as help with clinical trial searches.  The CIS’s points of contact are as follows:

• Telephone at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237)
• LiveHelp, NCI’s instant messaging service, at http://www.cancer.gov/livehelp   
• E-mail at cancergovstaff@mail.nih.gov   
• Order publications at http://www.cancer.gov/publications  or by calling 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237)