A little below the belt consumer magazine - July 2018

Page 11

About clinical trials

What does a clinical trial involve? ANZUP’s clinical trials are designed to answer scientific questions and find new or better ways to help patients with testicular, kidney, bladder or prostate cancer. The technical explanation of a clinical trial is to work out the effect of some form of intervention on a group of people with a defined condition.

The following examples provide an overview of clinical trials. Perhaps there is a new drug that you have heard will work in cancer. You want to know how safe it is, how often it works and how often it effectively works on treatment for you. Does it make people live longer? Is it safe? Does it make them feel better? And how does it compare to the treatments that are currently used? ANZUP has a strong record of successful completion of clinical trials. By performing clinical trials, evidence is generated to improve outcomes for people affected by below the belt cancers. This includes trials that do not involve big blockbuster drugs. For example, in testicular cancer, ANZUP undertook a clinical trial that compared two types of treatments and proved that one way was better than the other.

This is now the standard way this treatment is given around the world If you are a patient involved in a clinical trial, you may receive new treatments not yet available elsewhere. All patients who sign up to a clinical trial are carefully monitored throughout the trial and followed up after the trial. You would more than likely be in a trial that is being carried out in major cancer centres throughout Australia and New Zealand. Throughout your trial, ANZUP members (doctors, nurses, researchers, medical oncologists, radiologists, psychologists and other healthcare professionals specialising in urogenital and prostate cancers) will bring their concepts and experience together to design and monitor the trial.

How can I find out more about a trial? Before you and your doctor make a decision about your treatment (whether it is a clinical trial or not), your type of cancer will be diagnosed and ‘staged’. Staging reveals how far the disease has spread. Deciding on a treatment depends on many things, including the stage of the disease and your general health. You would most likely be referred to a trial by your own doctor or by a doctor who knows your case. Some patients find out about trials from other sources. In any case, you must have a reasonable understanding of your role in the research study and be freely willing to take part in it. Every clinical trial is designed to answer a set of research questions. If you fit the guidelines for a trial, you may be eligible to take part. Each study enrols patients with certain types and stages of cancer, and a certain health status. A study that involves two or more treatments can only yield reliable answers if all the patients’ cases are the same, so they can be compared to each other. Your doctor will then go through all the information related to that clinical trial, what it involves in terms of your time, the tests that are done, how many visits to the hospital, the possible side effects of the treatment and any other relevant information you may require. If you agree, you will be asked to sign a consent form. The consent form means you have given permission for a drug to be used in a way that is not ordinarily used, or to use a trial drug. If at any time you want to come off the trial, you can. You are not locked in.

A LITTLE BELOW THE BELT 11


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A little below the belt consumer magazine - July 2018 by ANZUP Cancer Trials Group - Issuu