Clinical Trials and Research
Clinical
trials test new therapies in people with cancer. The research is done
in hopes of finding better ways to treat cancer and help cancer patients.
These trials test many types of treatment, such as new drugs, new approaches
to surgery or radiation therapy, new combinations of treatment, or new
methods of treatment.
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.
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 the last resort for
people with no other options for therapy. Today, many patients with
common cancers choose to receive their first treatment in a clinical
trial. More information about clinical trials can be obtained by calling
The National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service at
NYS
Toll-free number: 1-800-528-0644
|
Radiotherapy Associates of Upstate New York is the only private radiation oncology practice in Central New York to be accredited by the American College of Radiation Oncology. |
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