Clinical Trials and Research
The Mission of Memorial Medical Center's Cancer Services
Memorial Medical Center’s Cancer Services provide a broad range of advanced and specialty services for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Memorial Medical Center has been accredited as an approved hospital cancer program by the American College of Surgeons since 1979. Our goal is to improve the quality of life for cancer patients, under the direction of the Cancer Committee and through the combined efforts of our highly trained team of health care professionals.
Among the many patient and family services we offer are clinical trials for cancer.
What Are Cancer Clinical Trials?
Clinical trials for cancer help us find new and better ways to detect, diagnose, prevent or treat cancer. Clinical trials are research studies conducted with people who have cancer in order to evaluate new drug treatments, new combinations of existing treatments, or new devices and methods to deliver treatment, including surgery and/or radiation therapy. There are also some clinical trials that may look at improving the quality of life of cancer patients.
Many clinical trials compare standard treatments with new ones to find ways to improve treatments and outcomes. The current standard treatments for cancer are the result of past clinical trials.
Memorial Medical Center offers participation in cancer clinical trials through the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), a National Cancer Institute-sponsored group. ECOG, established in 1955, is dedicated to the study, prevention and cure of all forms of adult cancer. ECOG is composed of researchers, doctors, and health care professionals in doctors’ offices, community hospitals and universities across the country. ECOG is one of several major cancer cooperative groups in the United States and Canada conducting clinical trials.
In order to provide our community with even greater access to clinical trials, Cancer Trials Support Unit (CTSU) research studies are also available. CTSU, like ECOG, is also sponsored by the National Cancer Institute.
Why Are Clinical Trials Important?
By taking part in a clinical trial, you are helping scientists and doctors answer important questions that can improve cancer care and can help people who may get cancer in the future.
Are There Benefits?
There can be benefits to taking part in a clinical trial. If you join a study that compares treatments, you will receive either the best accepted treatment for the kind of cancer you have (called standard treatment), or you will receive a new treatment that doctors hope will be better than the standard treatment.
Patients taking part in clinical trials can potentially benefit by receiving new drug or cancer therapies before they would otherwise be available through a doctor’s prescription.
What Are the Risks?
Even if a new treatment has benefits, it may not work for you. The new treatment being tested may not be better than, or as good as, standard care treatment. Likewise, if you receive the standard care instead of the new treatment being studied, it may not be as effective as the new approach. Also, the new research treatment may have side effects.
Will My Health Insurance Cover the Costs?
Memorial Medical Center’s cancer clinical trials are almost always covered by insurance, thanks to a new California law. However, if your health insurance plan requires a copayment or deductible, you will still need to pay those expenses. Most of the costs of participating in a Memorial Medical Center cancer clinical trial will be covered. Also, Medicare will pay for all routine costs that are part of a clinical trial funded by the National Cancer Institute.
How Is My Safety Protected?
Clinical trials are initiated and reviewed on a national level and then again on a local level. Memorial Medical Center’s Institutional Review Committee (IRC), a group consisting of doctors, nurses, health professionals, patient advocates, and a community representative, reviews the clinical trials and make sure they are run in a safe and fair manner.
Also, researchers performing studies are required by government regulations to inform potential participants about the study’s treatments, tests, the possible benefits and risks before the decision is made whether or not to participate in the study. This important process is called informed consent and continues as long as you are involved in the study.
How Do I Participate?
Each study has criteria identifying who is eligible for participation. The criteria includes such factors as age, sex, or type of cancer. Ask your doctor if you are eligible to participate in a study.
In addition to the several different standard treatments your physician may offer, participating in a clinical trial may be an option for you. Your doctor may ask you to meet with the Cancer Research Coordinator to further review the study before any treatment decisions are made.
Common Concerns and Fears
There are often fears or misconceptions about participating in a cancer clinical trial. Listed below are questions and answers about some common fears or concerns:
Question: Will I be treated like a “guinea pig”?
Answer: No. Generally, people who receive treatment in a clinical trial feel they receive very good care. Either you will receive the best standard treatment of care or the new treatment being studied.
Question: Will I receive a placebo?
Answer: Placebos (also known as sugar pills) are rarely used in cancer clinical trials and never used to replace a treatment.
Question: Will I be informed of the risks?
Answer: Government regulations require that you are informed about the study’s purpose, treatments, tests, procedures, possible risks and benefits, options and your rights as a research participant before you make your decision on whether or not you want to participate.
Question: Aren’t clinical trials only offered as a “last resort”?
Answer: No. There are many types of clinical trials. Depending upon available studies, clinical trials can be considered either before you start on any other treatment, sometimes while receiving a standard treatment, if your disease returns or spreads to another area of your body. There are also clinical trials that may look at other aspects of cancer care, like quality of life, pain, other side effects or cancer prevention.
More Information
For more information about clinical trials, contact:
- Your physician
- Memorial’s Cancer Research Coordinator: (209) 572-7116
- National Cancer Institute’s Information Service: (800) 422-6237
-National Cancer Institute
-Cancer Trials Support Unit (CTSU)
-American Cancer Society
-Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group
For more information about Memorial Medical Center's Cancer Services Clinical Trials, click here.