(Originally posted in the Patients Helping Patients Blog on Patient Empowerment Network)
Clinical Trials could be your best treatment option. You should discuss this with your medical team early
on, as once you start a medication regimen, you may no longer be eligible. Talk with your team and talk with other patients who have been in a clinical trial. Gather information and make an informed decision. This may be the best treatment for you.
(Originally posted in the Patients Helping Patients Blog on Patient Empowerment Network)
Clinical Trials could be your best treatment option. You should discuss this with your medical team early
on, as once you start a medication regimen, you may no longer be eligible. Talk with your team and talk with other patients who have been in a clinical trial. Gather information and make an informed decision. This may be the best treatment for you.
Searching for a clinical trial is getting easier! There are several other trial finders besides the behemoth ClinicalTrials.gov, some that are designed to be very user-friendly and some that offer toll-free numbers with specified navigators to help you with your search. Some of these trial finders are general, but others are specific to cancer and some even specific to certain types of cancer.
Most of the following sites also offer information about clinical trial process in general, and helpful tips for clinical trial navigation and enrollment.
Clinical Trial Finder Websites
ClinicalTrials.gov is the main website for listings of all clinical trials. It is a huge database, currently listing 195,221 studies with locations in all 50 states and in 190 countries.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has a trial finder that lists all NCI supported cancer trials.
EmergingMed is a designer of clinical trial finders. They have a trial finder on their site, mainly for cancer trials. They also offer to put you in touch with a navigator who will assist you in your search. You can browse trials by yourself, but can only receive trial contact information by talking with a navigator who will assist you in the enrollment process and follow up with you for as long as you like. They partner with other organizations such as American Organization for Cancer Research and Stand Up To Cancer (these organizations have a joint site cancer trial finder).
Both ClinicalConnection and CenterWatch have general clinical trial finders and will notify you of clinical trials with your condition if you sign up.
The Center for Information and Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP) is a non-profit organization that will help you find a clinical trial for your specific condition, or you can search yourself through a widget on their site that connects to the CenterWatch trial finder.
The Coalition of Cancer Support Groups is a non-profit organization that has a cancer trial finder and screening questionnaire. They offer a toll-free help number for assistance in your search.
CancerResearch Institute is a non-profit organization that offers a clinical trial finder and navigator service for cancer immunotherapy clinical trials. They have partnered with EmergingMed, one of the companies designing clinical trial finders.
TrialReach has a very user-friendly trial finder. They do not offer a navigator, but advertise that they have translated “science-speak” into plain English for an easier search.
SmartPatients is an online community with a trial finder. The idea is that you can discuss the trials with members of the online community to get their thoughts.
Both the Melanoma Research Foundation and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation have specific trial finders for the condition they focus on. Both also have navigators or nurses to talk to who will help you in the process of finding a clinical trial for your specific illness.
Information on Clinical Trials and Trial Finders
Cancer.net does not have a trial finder on their site, but has very good, useful information on clinical trials, clinical trial finders, and helpful hints on navigation and enrollment. They also have a list of trial finders.
CureClick does not have a trial finder but they do have for mission to spread the word about clinical trials. They work with “Ambassadors”, many of them patient advocates, who share clinical trial information with others, spreading the word throughout their community.
There will most likely be many more sites in the near future that will house clinical trial finders. And they will become easier, more practical and more user-friendly.
Clinical trials can save lives. And they are critical for advancing research in cancer. Learn about them, talk to your medical team about them, and research the options.