Clinical trials for lung cancer aim to find out if a new treatment might be more effective than a current treatment.
Trials aim to find out if a new treatment:-
Is safe.
Has side effects.
Works better than the currently used treatment.
Helps you feel better.
Phase 1 trials predominantly look at doses and the side effects of a new treatment. It usually involves a small group of people and whilst some participants do see benefits, many do not.
Phase 2 is an extension on phase 1 and looks to see if the new treatment works well enough to test in a larger phase 3 trial.
Patients participating in this trial may still experience side effects that doctors didn’t previously know about. Some phase 2 trials are randomised, and some involve a placebo treatment.
Phase 3 trials compare new treatments against the current standardized treatment to see if it works better. Most phase 3 trials are randomized. This means you are put into groups, usually by a computer. Each group will then receive a different treatment, for example one group will receive the standard treatment whilst the other will receive the new treatment.
More information
Understanding clinical trial results can feel overwhelming, with terms like "progression-free survival" and "Kaplan-Meier curves" often leaving people confused. This excellent, new open-access resource offers a clear, easy-to-follow explanation of clinical trial jargon, complete with visual guides to help you make sense of what the results really mean:
Decoding Clinical Trials: A Guide to Understanding Key Terms and Outcomes
National Institute for Health Research
Your oncologist should be able to discuss clinical trials that are open and suitable for you. You can also search for information about clinical trials on the following websites:
Cancer Research UK
www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/find-a-clinical-trial
Clinical Net
A platform sharing clinical trial information, connecting patients with trials, and streamlining trial processes.
U.S. National Library of Medicine