If there could be anything more devastating than a cancer diagnosis, it would be learning the standard treatment protocols for your cancer are no longer effective for you.

Clinical trials are research studies that test new medical approaches. The Scully-Welsh Cancer Center believes access to clinical trials is an important weapon in the war against cancer and the hallmark of a top cancer care program.

Thanks to the affiliation with Duke Health, our patients have access to clinical trials from one of the country’s leading research centers, as designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).  Duke opens the door to thousands of clinical trials, many under the auspices of the National Institute of Health or NCI.  Offering access to clinical trials conducted by its own researchers, Duke also is a gateway to trials by other research institutions through a national cooperative and to Duke-approved trials by pharmaceutical companies.

Clinical trials are key to developing new methods to prevent, detect, and treat cancer. It is through clinical trials that researchers can determine whether new treatments are safe and effective and work better than current treatments. When a person takes part in a clinical study, it adds to the knowledge about cancer and helps improve cancer care.

Types of Clinical Trials

• Treatment trials test new treatments (a new cancer drug, new approaches to surgery or radiation therapy, new combinations of treatments or new methods like gene therapy).
• Prevention trials test new approaches, such as medicines, supplements or exercising that doctors believe may prevent cancer or lower the risk of a certain type of cancer.
• Screening trials study the best way to test for and find cancer, especially in its early stages.
• Quality-of-life trials, or supportive care trials, explore ways to improve comfort and quality of life for cancer patients.

Deciding to take part in a clinical trial is an individual, voluntary decision. A clinical trial is an option to obtain access to a possible higher technologically advanced treatment before it is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The decision to participate must be made based on many factors, to include the benefits and risks of the study.

Available Clinical Trials

• A011401 – Randomized Phase III Trial
  Evaluating the Role of Weight Loss in Adjuvant Treatment of Overweight and Obese Women with Early Breast Cancer
• A151216 – Adjuvant Trial (ALCHEMIST)
  Lung Cancer Enrichment Marker Identification and Sequencing Trial (ALCHEMIST)
• E4512 – Treatment Trial (ALCHEMIST)
  Crizotinib in Treating Patients With Stage IB-IIIA Non-small Cell Lung Cancer That Has Been Removed by Surgery and ALK Fusion Mutations
• A081105 – Randomized Study (NSCLC)
  Study of Erlotinib vs. Observation in Patients With Completely Resected Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Mutant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
• EA5142 – Randomized Phase III Adjuvant Study
  Study of Nivolumab After Surgical Resection and Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers
• S1605 – Phase II Trial of Atezolizumab in BCG-Unresponsive Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer
• NHLBI-MDS – The National Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) Study
• CheckMate 816 – A Neoadjuvant Study of Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab or Nivolumab Plus Chemotherapy Versus Chemotherapy Alone in Early Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

For more information, please contact Layla Landgraf in Oncology Clinical Research at (772) 226-4928 or email clinicaltrials@irmc.cc..