Cancer Research

View the list of current Treatment Trials available through Genesis Regional Cancer Center.

Clinical Trials

Cancer treatment and prevention research is done through a process of using clinical trials. Clinical trials are research studies designed to show how a treatment, new test or a potential cancer prevention strategy can be used to improve cancer care. Clinical trials are the last step in a long research project that begins in a research laboratory or "think tank" where researchers develop new ideas to test.  Ideas are tested in the lab and then on animals to see if living creatures can tolerate the therapy being tested. Some ideas do not develop beyond this pre-clinical stage.

How Is A Clinical Trial Done?

Research scientists very precisely established three different phases of clinical trials once testing has been completed on animals as described above. These trials adhere to strict scientific and ethical principles.

Phase I

The trials in phase I look at whether the trial treatment is safe for humans or has any harmful effects. If a drug is being tested, for example, researchers use this phase to determine what the highest tolerated dose might be for humans. Phase I trials are not offered to everyone. Usually patients who have not responded favorably to their cancer treatments will enroll in Phase I trials to potentially be helped or to be able to help others in the future.

Phase II

Once researchers have determined that something can be used in humans and have an idea about the harmful or side effects and drug doses, the next step is to determine what kinds of cancers it is effective in either treating or preventing. Until Phase II trials are completed, there can be no work in Phase III.

Phase III

This is the phase where researchers look to see how well a treatment works compared to one that has been commonly used, called "standard". These trials will involve at least two groups of people. One group participates in the new treatment while the other group receives what is called "standard" treatment.

It takes many years and many participants to complete the research necessary for researchers and physicians to accept a new therapy as the new standard treatment. Not all clinical trials will result in a new and better treatment. Sometimes the new therapy is shown to not work as well as the current standard. Or the side effects from the new therapy are worse than the current standard.

Phase III trials are done in physicians offices, hospitals and cancer centers across the country. It is necessary to enroll large numbers of patients into these trials in order to be sure that the results are truly reliable.

Why Should I Participate In A Clinical Trial?

Today it is possible to enroll in a clinical trial as the first step in your treatment after a cancer diagnosis. There are literally hundreds of trials available across the country. In fact, many of our most effective treatments used today for breast, colon, rectal and childhood cancers are the result of recent successes in clinical trials. As a participant a patient has the opportunity to help further the cause for other cancer patients as well as be helped by the treatments they receive.

After enrollment in a clinical trial, a patient may ask to be taken off the trial. If the doctor monitoring the patient determines that the patient is not responding favorably to the treatment, he/she may advise that another treatment be initiated instead.

The National Cancer Institute's Cancer Trials web page contains extensive patient education information about clinical trials. The booklet "Taking Part in Clinical Trials" is also available online.

For information on clinical trials offered by the Genesis Regional Cancer Program, click on the treatment or prevention trial pages at the top of this page, or contact our research staff at 563-421-1908.