Learn About Clinical Trials
Many people think of clinical trials for cancer as a last resort for patients with advanced cancer or those who are not responding to traditional treatments. However, this is a myth. Clinical trials are available for patients with all stages of cancer and can be an effective way to get treatment.
We want to provide you with up-to-date, credible information about clinical trials. Information on this page is from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
What are Clinical Trials?
Clinical trials are research studies that involve people. Through clinical trials, doctors find new ways to improve treatments and the quality of life for people with disease.
Researchers design cancer clinical trials to test new ways to:
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- Treat cancer
- Find and diagnose cancer
- Prevent cancer
- Manage symptoms of cancer and side effects from its treatment
Clinical trials are the final step in a long process that begins with research in a lab. Before any new treatment is used with people in clinical trials, researchers work for many years to understand its effects on cancer cells in the lab and in animals. They also try to figure out the side effects it may cause.
Any time you or a loved one needs treatment for cancer, clinical trials are an option to think about. Trials are available for all stages of cancer. It is a myth that they are only for people who have advanced cancer that is not responding to treatment. To look for trials, see Find NCI-Supported Clinical Trials.
Every trial has a person in charge, usually a doctor, who is called the principal investigator. The principal investigator prepares a plan for the trial, called a protocol. The protocol explains what will be done during the trial. It also contains information that helps the doctor decide if this treatment is right for you. The protocol includes information about:
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- The reason for doing the trial
- Who can join the trial (called “eligibility criteria”)
- How many people are needed for the trial
- Any drugs or other treatments that will be given, how they will be given, the dose, and how often
- What medical tests will be done and how often
- What types of information will be collected about the people taking part
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I encourage everyone to learn more about clinical trials and ask your doctor about participation.
When you participate in a clinical trial, you are joining the front line against a disease. This is where treatments are tested and medical science advanced.
It’s where researchers learn what works. Clinical trials are vital to research.
– Brenda Knapp,
wife of kidney cancer patient
Why are Clinical Trials Important?
Today, people are living longer lives from successful cancer treatments that are the results of past clinical trials. Through clinical trials, doctors determine whether new treatments are safe and effective and work better than current treatments. Clinical trials also help us find new ways to prevent and detect cancer. And they help us improve the quality of life for people during and after treatment. When you take part in a clinical trial, you add to our knowledge about cancer and help improve cancer care for future patients. Clinical trials are the key to making progress against cancer.
Why should I join a clinical trial?
Treatments might be new drugs or new combinations of drugs, new surgical procedures or devices, or new ways to use existing treatments.
The goal of clinical trials is to determine if a new test or treatment works and is safe. Clinical trials can also look at other aspects of care, such as improving the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses.
People participate in clinical trials for a variety of reasons. Healthy volunteers say they participate to help others and to contribute to moving science forward. Participants with an illness or disease also participate to help others, but also to possibly receive the newest treatment and to have the additional care and attention from the clinical trial staff.
Clinical trials offer hope for many people and an opportunity to help researchers find better treatments for others in the future.
NCI has trained trial counselors who can help you find potential trials to discuss with your oncologist. There is no charge to you.
Connect with Our Communities
There are multiple support groups serving the kidney cancer community. SmartPatients.com is a patient forum and a KidneyCAN partner. We recommend this as a private, moderated place to talk with other patients. Your cancer center may also have their own support groups.
Reliable Resources for Cancer Information
NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
www.cancer.gov
CANCER.NET
www.cancer.net/cancer-types/kidney-cancer
INTERNATIONAL KIDNEY CANCER COALITION
www.ikcc.org
CANCER AND CAREERS
www.cancerandcareers.org/en/at-work
Join Our Grassroots Army
Join Us!
Join this free symposium to understand how your quality of life and symptom management during #kidneycancer treatment can be improved by support from palliative care specialists.
This event is provided by our friends at the Judy Nicholson Kidney Cancer Foundation. Register here: https://jnfkidneycancer.org/supporting-patients-family-the-role-of-palliative-care/
Does #kidneycancer run in my family?
What do my genes tell me about kidney cancer?
On October 1st, Dr. Nathanson will break down risks of kidney cancer that runs in families in language we can all understand. She will present the very latest research in the field of kidney cancer genetics, offering information to share with family members and inform decision-making.
More information and registration at: https://www.med.upenn.edu/kidney2021/
Today’s science may lead to breakthrough treatments for a life-threatening condition that affects millions. To deliver on that promise, we need sustained, robust funding for the National Institutes of Health.
Today, KidneyCAN joins Rally for Medical Research to ask #Congress to fund the NIH.
Here's why:
• Medical research funded through the NIH, the largest source of funding for medical research in the world, has been a driving force behind many decades of advances that have improved the health of people in every corner of America.
• Thanks in large part to NIH-funded research, Americans are living longer, healthier lives and advances that were once unimaginable, such as sequencing the human genome, have been achieved and have opened a world of unprecedented opportunities for science, medicine and health.
• NIH funding contributed to every one of the 210 new drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 2010 and 2016, including 84 first-in-class products to treat a wide range of diseases.
• Investment in medical research can limit future costs of care. The vast majority of our health care dollars are spent on treating chronic diseases that could be managed more effectively with better therapies or, in some cases, prevented. We can meet these challenges head-on, but in order to do so, medical research must be a strong national priority.
#RallyMedRes #FundNIH
Did you know? September 21 is #TakeALovedOneToTheDoctor day!
Building a care team and getting support is a key piece of your cancer journey. Check out KidneyCAN's resources for patients and caregivers at https://kidneycan.org/build-a-care-team/
We just published our August newsletter, filled with exciting #kidneycancer research updates, news, and events. Don't miss a very special feature highlighting an inspiring member of our community.
Have a great weekend!
https://conta.cc/3sRMguh
REMINDER: Do you have questions about participating in clinical trials and how to find trials for you? Do you know the risks and benefits? We are hosting a special Facebook Live with a medical oncologist and clinical trial patient to answer all your questions live, including:
• What is a clinical trial?
• Where do I find clinical trials for kidney cancer?
• What are important questions to ask about a trial?
• What is informed consent?
• What are good clinical practices?
• What can patients expect during a trial?
• What are the risks and benefits of participating in a trial?
• What is the difference between participating at an academic institution versus a freestanding clinical research organization (CRO)?
Will you join us? RSVP now so you get a Facebook notification when we go live: https://fb.me/e/1JfopJa6J
🚨🚨 RESEARCH NEWS
Lenvantinib (by Eisai) + Keytruda (by Merck) is now
U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved for #kidneycancer. Wonderful to have this powerful new combo as a treatment option for patients with advanced #RCC!
Dr. Toni Choueiri of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute says, "This is another important combination option for advanced kidney cancer patients. The results in term of responses including complete responders are the highest to date, albeit with a bit different patient populations. The hope is to continue building on doublets, like pembro/Len with other active drugs, that are able to induce more deep and sustainable remissions."
Great news!
More information here: https://cancernetwork.com/view/pembrolizumab-lenvatinib-approved-by-the-fda-for-the-treatment-of-first-line-advanced-rcc
We lose almost 40 people per day to kidney cancer in the United States. The need for research funding is urgent.
For #DistrictDays, the #kidneycancer community is meeting with members of #Congress all over the United States to ask for robust funding of kidney cancer research.
We want Congress to
1. Maintain the $50 million currently allocated for KCRP for
Fiscal Year 2022.
2. Increase the NIH budget by $3.5 billion for Fiscal Year 2022.
3. Support the creation of ARPA-H (the Advanced Research
Projects Agency - Health) at NIH with an additional $3 billion.
4. Continue supporting legislative initiatives that contribute to
robust, sustainable funding for medical research.
5. Continue to incorporate the patient perspective on legislative policy matters.
Thank you to the many delegates from all over the country who are speaking on behalf of patients, caregivers, friends, and family members today. Thank you to doctors and researchers from the medical community who've made time today to lift their voices with ours.
Let's work together to #fundthecure.
#AcceleratingCures
Thank you to Senator Grassley's office for meeting with us today. Here, KidneyCAN President and #kidneycancer survivor Bryan Lewis, along with our friend and patient Shari, and Dr. Zakharia speak up about the need for robust research funding.
76,000+ will be diagnosed in 2021.
14,000 Americans will lose their lives to kidney cancer this year.
It's urgent! Let's #fundthecure.
#acceleratingcures #districtdays
Here we go!
#KidneyCancer advocates across the #USA are speaking with #onevoice today. We're asking #Congress to #fundthecure with robust research funding for the National Institutes of Health, the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs - Kidney Cancer Research Program, and ARPA-H, which will devote specific funding to cancer research initiatives.
We lose 40 people per day to kidney cancer. This is urgent. The time is NOW.
KidneyCAN is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit and does not receive any funding through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) or KCRP (Kidney Cancer Research Program). Our work is funded by grassroots donors in the kidney cancer community.
