Mesothelioma Clinical Trials

Mesothelioma clinical trials are an option when you're trying to decide which treatment is best for you or for your loved one with mesothelioma. Clinical trials are also an alternative when you've tried standard treatments for mesothelioma, with no result or an inadequate response. At any given time, there are several mesothelioma clinical trials going on at different sites across the United States. Most of them are testing new treatments. However, mesothelioma clinical trials may also be performed to design new treatment protocols, test new diagnostic tools or techniques, evaluate preventative measures, or evaluate screening methods for mesothelioma and other diseases.

Find Out the Details

If you're considering participating in a mesothelioma clinical trial, it's best to fully understand what is going on in the trial, including:

• the purpose of the clinical trial
• how long the trial will last
• the patient group (or cohort) being treated
• whether you will be eligible
• who is performing the trial
• who is monitoring the trial, such as an Institutional Review Board
• who will be responsible if you have an adverse reaction to the treatment
• the risks, including possible side effects
• whether there are any out-of-pocket expenses for you
• the "track record" of the treatment being tested

At the Cutting Edge of Treatment

Mesothelioma clinical trials offer patients the opportunity to try a new treatment that is "at the cutting edge" of medicine. The treatment may help, or it may not. It's often difficult to say. There aren't any treatments that can offer a cure for mesothelioma, and standard treatments (e.g., surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy) help some patients but not others. Each patient's body, medical history, and circumstances are unique, and even highly experienced medical experts can only make a best guess as to which mesothelioma clinical trials' treatments may offer the best chance of hope for a given patient.

Mesothelioma clinical trials don't involve human patients until a rather late stage in the treatment development process. Generally, new drugs and techniques are first examined in the laboratory and then in animals to test their safety and efficacy (that is, how well they work, and whether their use is feasible). The last stage involves humans, in several carefully regulated and monitored phases.

Clinical Trial Phases

• Phase I (Phase One): This is a small-group trial that is usually conducted to find the upper safe limit of a drug or to find the threshold for a treatment. Side effects of the treatment are monitored.

• Phase II (Phase Two): Larger groups of patients are given the treatment to confirm whether the treatment is effective and to further study the treatment's safety profile.

• Phase III (Phase Three): Very large groups of patients are studied to compare the new treatment with existing treatments and collect data about the treatment's safety. This is usually the last phase before a treatment's approval for wide use.

• Phase IV (Phase Four): This is a clinical trial done after the release of a treatment. It continues to monitor the treatment's safety and efficacy.

The Risks of Mesothelioma Clinical Trials

There is no medical treatment that does not pose some risk for some people. The treatments being tested in mesothelioma clinical trials are no different. Some of the treatments use chemotherapy drugs that have known side effects. Other trials present risks such as a worsened condition or perhaps no benefit at all.

Look for Mesothelioma Clinical Trials

The physician who diagnosed your mesothelioma may be able to refer you to an appropriate mesothelioma clinical trial. You can also check the websites of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI); each has a registry of clinical trials for cancer treatments.

An experienced mesothelioma law firm will also be able to give you direction — contact a mesothelioma law firm today.