About Clinical Trials
A clinical trial is a study conducted with patients, usually to evaluate a new treatment or medication. Each study is designed to answer specific scientific questions and to find new and better ways to help take care patients. The search for excellent treatment begins with basic research and careful study in the laboratory. This lab research, points out the new methods most likely to succeed, and, as much as possible, shows how to use them safely and effectively. The results of that research are then used in patient studies, hopefully leading to outcomes that will be able to help many people. Clinical trials help us find out if the promising new treatment is safe and effective for patients. During a trial, more and more information is gained about a new treatment or medication, its risks, and how well it may or may not work. Standard treatments, the ones currently being used, are often the base for building new treatments. Many new treatments are designed on the basis of what has worked in the past, and in efforts to improve them.
You may be interested in, or offered information regarding a clinical trial while visiting the Radiation Oncology Department. Learn as much as you can about the trial before you make up your mind. Only patients who choose to do so, actually take part in a clinical trial. It is often helpful to talk to your physician, family members, relatives or friends about whether or not to join a trial.
Contact Us
If you are interested in joining a clinical trial or would like more information regarding clinical trials and/or which trials are currently being performed in our department, please call Anne Wagner, RN (310) 825-6577.
Current trials
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