Clinical Trials To Fight Cancer

Clinical trials or clinical studies are research studies that test how new methods work in diagnosing and treating patients. Cancer research studies specifically test new methods and treatments for cancer patients. These studies use volunteer patients to help doctors find new and improved cancer treatments. Many times these studies lead to new standard treatments. Studies like these led to the development of most standard treatments used today. The studies also help scientists and physicians answer important questions and develop new studies.

Patients who take part in cancer research clinical trials usually receive either a new treatment or the best available standard treatment for their cancer. There is no guarantee that the new treatment will be better, and it may have unknown risks and side effects. If the new treatment is found to be effective, it may become a new standard treatment.

The St. Vincent's Mary Virginia Terry Cancer Center participates in cancer research clinical trials through nationally known research groups and pharmaceutical sponsored studies. A number of ongoing prevention and treatment trials include:

• The STAR study
• The Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial
• The National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (a national cooperative study with the University of Kentucky)
• The Gynecologic Oncology Group
• Various pharmaceutical-sponsored studies

For information about cancer research studies at St. Vincent's, you can talk to your cancer doctor or call the Cancer Research office at 904-308-8634.

Learn More

For information about cancer research studies anywhere, call the Cancer Information Service at 800-4-CANCER. You can also check for cancer research studies on the National Cancer Institute's website at http://cancertrials.nci.nih.gov. For more information about cancer trials in Florida, visit www.floridacancertrials.com.