Results from a clinical trial suggest that, in patients with brain metastases, an advanced radiotherapy technique can limit harm to patients’ cognitive function without affecting the treatment’s effect on tumors.
In a recent trial, the PARP inhibitor olaparib substantially delayed ovarian cancer from coming back after the first line of chemotherapy. The data may support olaparib as part of the standard of care for women with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer with a BRCA mutation.
NCI’s Dr. Lyndsay Harris provides an update on the NCI-MATCH trial, including the opening of new trial treatment arms and the addition of new laboratories to perform testing on tumor samples of prospective trial participants.
This booklet is for people with cancer who are thinking about joining a clinical trial, which is a research study that involves people. It is available for download in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats.
The NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, is America’s largest hospital devoted entirely to clinical research. This page provides information about the Clinical Center, which NCI programs treat patients there, and how NCI doctors can work with your health care providers if you decide to join a clinical trial.
NCI-Supported Clinical Trials That Are Recruiting Patients
This phase 2 trial is testing carfilzomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone in treating people with smolder multiple myeloma, a precancerous condition that may develop into multiple myeloma. The current standard of care is close follow-up without treatment until multiple myeloma develops. However, researchers are studying possible treatments for smolder myeloma itself, including this drug combination, which has shown promising results in patients with symptomatic multiple myeloma.
This phase 2 trial tests how well treatment with an immunotoxin targeting mesothelin, a protein often found on certain types of cancer, followed by immunotherapy with pembrolizumab works in patients with malignant mesothelioma. Doctors want to see if using these agents in sequence will produce responses in patients not eligible for surgical resection of their cancer.
Cellular Therapy for Patients with Ovarian Cancer or Peritoneal Mesothelioma This phase 1 trial is studying cell therapy with MCY-M11, a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) product designed to target mesothelin, for women with platinum-resistant ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer or patients with peritoneal mesothelioma who experienced a recurrence after chemotherapy. Doctors want to determine the best dose and examine the safety of the cellular therapy when injected through the peritoneum for patients with metastatic or unresectable cancer.
