Clinical Trials Provide Critical Answers THE WORLD IS WAITING FOR A WONDER DRUG TO BEAT CANCER. GREAT STRIDES HAVE BEEN MADE IN THE FIELD OF CANCER RESEARCH. MEDICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE TODAY TO IMPROVE SYMPTOMS, AND IN SOME CASES, GIVE A PATIENT WITH CANCER PRECIOUS YEARS WITH A HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE THAN WAS POSSIBLE EVEN 10 OR 20 YEARS AGO. Many of those advancements are thanks, in part, to discoveries made during clinical trials. These studies conducted on volunteer patients help physicians, researchers and developers determine whether a new treatment works and is safe for people. CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital recently began several clinical trials in the areas of colon, breast and lung cancer. “In the medical field, we are always trying to find better ways to treat patients,” explains Windy Dean-Colomb, MD, oncologist with CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital Regional Cancer Center. “We’re continually studying to discover new and better medications, techniques, and technologies to treat and cure people, and improve their quality of life.” She said in the past couple of years, there were five new drugs approved for breast cancer and a plethora of drugs approved to treat lung cancer. “Let’s look at lung cancer further,” she says. “In previous years, survival rates were dismal, but researchers have made significant progress. Immune therapies have been developed and tested and are now making a big difference in the lives of patients with lung cancer. These clinical trials are a significant piece of the whole puzzle in bringing advanced treatments to the market.” Clinical trials show what works and what doesn’t work in medicine and health care. They answer two critical questions: Does the new treatment work in humans, and is the new treatment safe? On average, a new cancer drug has been studied for at least six years before it is tested in a clinical trial. In fact, about 1,000 potential medicines are tested before one makes it to clinical trials, according to the American Cancer Society. At that point, it’s tested in clinical trials for about eight years until it’s approved, or rejected. This extended time in research is required to ensure the medication is safe and effective. It takes months, if not years, to see if a cancer treatment makes significant improvement in people, and even longer to claim a drug improves survival rate. The data obtained in clinical trial delivers useful information. Physicians and researchers learn as much from something that doesn’t work as they do from patients who show improvements. Patients who volunteer for these studies are carefully monitored throughout the study and continue to be monitored after the study concludes. If at any time they wish to, a volunteer may withdraw from the study. The type of patients vary greatly in clinical trials. They may be newly diagnosed or they may have tried all current medicine available with no success. Patients must meet certain criteria, depending April 2017
on the type and goal of the clinical trial being conducted. Their physician and the clinical trial medical team can guide them on the risks and benefits of participating in a clinical trial. “We’re in a unique position,” says Dr. DeanColomb. “CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital is the only facility in Southwest Louisiana conducting clinical trials for cancer research. In addition to these current clinical trials, we are excited about more to be offered here in the near future. It’s rewarding to give people from my home state the opportunity to stay close to home, near their support system, while still receiving opportunities to be part of clinical trials that were previously available only in larger cities.” A Lafayette native, Dr. Dean-Colomb was raised in Baton Rouge. She has experienced the impact
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of cancer personally and has had several family members affected by this disease. Her brother passed away from colon cancer at age 24; her sister received a diagnosis of breast cancer. “I know the effect cancer can have on an individual and their family. I also know the impact of effective medication and treatment. I’ve been involved in 20 – 30 clinical trials and know they can make a tremendous difference in the healthcare field both now and for future patients. It’s rewarding to see the advancements that are being made in cancer treatment.” To learn more about clinical trials at CHRISTUS St. Patrick Hospital Regional Cancer Center at (337) 491-7569.
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