Clinical trials, also called research studies, test new therapies in people with cancer. The goal of this research is to find better ways to treat cancer and help cancer patients. Clinical trials test many types of treatment, such as new drugs, new approaches to surgery or radiation therapy, new combinations of treatment (including supportive therapies, such as antibiotics or pain medication), or new methods of treatment (such as gene therapy).

A clinical trial is one of the final stages of a long and careful research process. The search for new treatments begins in the laboratory where scientists first develop and test new ideas. If an approach seems promising, the next step may be testing in animals, to see how it may affect cancer in a living being and to study for any harmful effects. Of course, treatments that work well in the laboratory do not always work well in people. Studies that look promising need to be tested in humans to determine if indeed they are effective and safe. Once a new treatment has been shown to be safe and effective, it needs to be compared to an existing standard therapy to determine if the new treatment is safer or more effective.

In the past, clinical trials were sometimes seen as a last resort for people who had no other options for therapy. Today, many patients with common cancers choose to receive their first treatment in a clinical trial. At Columbus Oncology & Hematology Associates, we participate in clinical trials sponsored by national research groups, pharmaceutical companies, and by local physicians, through our affiliations with Columbus CCOP (our local research group funded by the National Cancer Institute), Grant/Riverside Methodist Hospital, and Ohio State University. More information about clinical trials can be obtained by calling National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service (1-800-4CANCER) or Grant/Riverside's Cancer Call (566-4321 or toll-free in Ohio, 1-800-752-9119).
 

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