Are you currently undergoing treatment for lung cancer? If so, you should know that any drug your doctor prescribed went through rigorous testing and evaluation before it became widely available to patients. After a drug shows significant potential in the lab, researchers then study it in clinical trials with people.
There are three phases of clinical trials. Early phase trials (phases I and II) help researchers determine if a potential treatment has benefits, at what dose and for which patients. If the treatment still shows promise, phase III trials compare the new treatment to the current standard of care (treatment that is widely accepted as the best care for a certain disease) with a large group of participants.
Patients should always inquire about participating in an appropriate clinical trial, says Dr. Vamsidhar Velcheti, staff physician, hematology and oncology, and associate director at the Center for Immuno-Oncology Research at Cleveland Clinic. “There have been dramatic developments in treatments for lung cancers [thanks to clinical trials],” he says. “We understand the disease so much better, even in just the last few years.”
[See: 7 Things You Didn’t Know About Lung Cancer.]
Benefits of Clinical Trials
The number one benefit of participating in a clinical trial is that a new treatment may be more effective than the current standard of care. If that’s the case, you’ll be among the first patients to benefit from it.
Unfortunately, there are misconceptions that researchers use patients as guinea pigs when they participate in medical studies. “This is really not true,” Velcheti says. Patients who have advanced stage lung cancer always get the best treatment on a clinical trial, and every study has strict ethical standards in place to protect patients. “[The goal of clinical trials] is to move the bar higher for treatment for cancer.”
“Patients in clinical trials have more options,” says Dr. Sreeram Maddipatla, medical oncologist/hematologist for the Liver Center and Pancreas Center at UF Health Cancer Center — Orlando Health. If you have stage 4 cancer (the most advanced disease), participating in a clinical trial may increase the number of years you could live.
Some patients also appreciate the opportunity to take a proactive role in their own health care and to know their participation may help other cancer patients down the road.
[See: What Not to Say to Someone With Lung Cancer.]
Downsides of Clinical Trials
Just because a drug is in clinical trial does not necessarily mean it’s better than the standard lung cancer treatments currently available. “The treatment may not live up to expectations,” Maddipatla says. The treatment may also have unexpected side effects. Furthermore, even if the new therapy is beneficial for some patients, it might not help you.
Participating in a clinical trial may be a bit cumbersome for patients who live in small towns, far from large medical institutions that are more likely to conduct clinical trials, Maddipatla says. You may need to invest more time and travel commitment. Insurance companies don’t always cover all the costs related to the trial (for example, extra tests). Fortunately, Maddipatla says, patients can often find funding help through charities, support groups and drug companies who sponsor some clinical trials.
Every clinical trial has a strict set of guidelines and criteria about who can and cannot participate. These criteria protect patients and ensure the trial produces results that will help clinicians make the best treatment recommendations. A protocol, or recipe of sorts, outlines exactly what will happen in the trial, and a scientific review panel of experts and an Institutional Review Board (an ethics panel) oversee all clinical trials. You are free to leave a clinical trial at any time.
Most clinical trials focus on disease treatment, although you can also participate in trials for cancer screening, prevention and quality of life/palliative care. You can find lists of clinical trials at ClinicalTrials.gov, a registry and results database of publicly and privately supported clinical trials, or search for lung cancer trials at the National Cancer Institute’s website.
[See: 7 Innovations in Cancer Therapy.]
How Have Clinical Trials Improved Lung Cancer Treatments?
The biggest recent advancements in lung cancer treatment have come in the area of immunotherapy. “We understand so much better about mutations and genetic changes and how diverse lung cancers are,” Velcheti says. “Every lung cancer is different, [as is] how it responds to treatment. What’s really changed the landscape in the last three years is our understanding of the immune system and how tumors interact and how tumors hide from the immune system.”
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved several new immunotherapy drugs, including pembrolizumab, which, it turns out from clinical trials, is superior to standard treatment (chemotherapy) in a certain subset of advanced lung cancer patients. Velcheti says there are currently numerous immunotherapy clinical trials underway.
Ask your doctor about participating in a clinical trial. You have nothing to lose by getting more information, Maddipatla says.
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Clinical Trials for Lung Cancer originally appeared on usnews.com
