Breakthrough cancer treatments begin with clinical research, but few adults participate.
In fact, participation among adults is so poor that nearly one out of every five cancer trials fails to draw enough participants to determine whether or not the new treatment works, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in December.
The cancer death rate in the United States has dropped 23 percent since 1991, according to the American Cancer Society. Encouraging though that statistic may be, the survival rate for children’s cancers is markedly better. If a child was diagnosed with cancer between 1975 and 1977, he or she had a 58 percent chance of surviving at least five years. For children diagnosed between 2005 and 2011 that five-year survival rate climbed to 83 percent.
Why the difference? Children with cancer are far more likely to participate in clinical research.
“Nationally about 60 percent of children with cancer will go on a trial compared to only about 5 percent of adults, so we’re seeing greater progress in children than adults,” says OHC medical oncologist, Dr. Doug Flora.
Patients forego trials for a lot of reasons. Some worry the rules and requirements governing the study (protocol) will be too demanding or inconvenient. Others worry their insurance won’t pay for their care or feel the trial won’t benefit them.
Still others choose not to participate because they worry they won’t receive the experimental therapy. Clinical trials are conducted incrementally in a series of four steps, called phases. Each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase I trials represent the earliest research in humans and are used to evaluate the safety, dosage range and side effects of new treatments. Later phase trials involve larger groups of participants and are used to gather more information about the treatment and compare it to commonly used therapies. Some participants are randomly and blindly chosen to receive existing “standard of care treatments” while others receive the new experimental therapy.
Unfortunately, many cancer patients decline to participate because they are afraid and don’t understand what a clinical trial is or its potential benefits.
“Clinical trials help researchers determine if the drug being investigated shows promise for cancer patients. These studies offer patients the opportunity to receive new medicines or treatment not yet on the market,” says Dr. Flora. “Your clinical research team will do a thorough evaluation including testing to determine if you meet the criteria for the clinical trial. Once enrolled, patients are closely supervised by their oncologists and research team. It is through clinical research that future drugs for the treatment and cure of cancer are developed. ”
Deciding whether or not to participate in a trial is a big decision. To learn more about clinical trial participation visit the National Institutes of Health.
