Friday, March 8, 2019

CLINICAL TRIALS: GUIDELINES


In our new house:  1984
I have urged you repeatedly, in my 656 (!) blogs, to be aware of and receptive to the possibility of participating in a cancer clinical trial.  Regrettably, I have not spent many words on other important matters, such as eligibility and feasibility.  For instance: you may be ineligible to participate in a trial if you are too old, too young, or perhaps otherwise too sick.  Also, participating in a trial may not be feasible if it requires you to abandon your husband and twelve kids and move to NY City.  Well, the NCI has finally got around to considering these issues, in this highly useful little essay:


Much of the problem, it seems, lies with well-meaning but poorly informed “clinicians” (e.g., your family doc or your oncologist).  Make sure these guys are up to speed.



2 comments:

  1. It seems that, despite the best efforts if the NIH and others – including me – it still is too difficult for cancer patients to find and enroll in an appropriate clinical trial. This article lays out some of the problems:

    https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/can-the-clinical-trial-system-be-cured-in-time-to-save-lives/95875?
    utm_term=OZY&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DD_2019_08_13&utm_content=A

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  2. Here is more useful information about clinical trials:

    https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/clinical-trials/what-are-trials/where/clinical-center?cid=eb_govdel

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