NCI is expanding eligibility criteria for its cancer clinical trials in the hope that more patients will join, potentially leading to more rapid advances. The goal is to maximize the number of patients who are eligible to enroll while maintaining their safety.
Surgery to remove all the lymph nodes in the area around an advanced ovarian tumor did not improve survival in a recent randomized clinical trial. The study also found systematic
lymphadenectomy was associated with more frequent serious complications.
In two clinical trials, combination treatments that included an immune checkpoint inhibitor and axitinib (Inlyta) led to better outcomes for patients with advanced kidney cancer than treatment with sunitinib (Sutent), the standard initial therapy.
The investigational drug darolutamide can help delay the spread of prostate cancer in some men with the disease, a recent clinical trial shows. In addition, the drug appears to cause fewer side effects than similar prostate cancer drugs.
Researchers in the United Kingdom have found that e-cigarettes combined with counseling may be more helpful to smokers trying to quit tobacco than counseling and nicotine-replacement products, such as patches, gums, and lozenges.
Clinical trials may be closer to you than you think. Cancer clinical trials take place in cities and towns all across the United States. Ask your health care provider about clinical trials near you, or use NCI’s clinical trials search form to search for trials within a set distance from your ZIP code.
Types of cancer clinical trials include treatment trials, prevention trials, screening trials, and supportive and palliative care trials. Each type of trial is designed to answer different
research questions and will help researchers learn things that will help people in the future.
NCI-Supported Clinical Trials That Are Recruiting Patients
Women with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer are often treated with drugs that may harm the heart. This phase 3 trial will randomly assign women who are receiving trastuzumab (Herceptin)-based treatment for their disease to also receive carvedilol (Coreg), a beta-blocker drug used in people with high blood pressure or congestive heart failure, or a placebo. Doctors want to see if prophylactic treatment with carvedilol will help prevent heart damage in these patients.
This phase 1 trial will help determine if administering IL-15, an immune stimulating drug, along with obinutuzumab (Gazyva) is safe in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia that has recurred or not responded to prior treatment. Doctors will determine the maximum tolerated dose, the best dose for further studies, and side effects associated with giving IL-15 and obinutuzumab together, as well as assess what effects the combination has on leukemia cells and the immune system.
This phase 3 trial is comparing combination therapy with paclitaxel (Taxol), trastuzumab (Herceptin), and pertuzumab (Perjeta) plus the immunotherapy agent atezolizumab (Tecentriq) to the three-drug combination alone for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. Atezolizumab is an antibody that interferes with a protein that suppresses the immune response to cancer cells. The study will help determine if the addition of atezolizumab helps these patients survive longer without their cancer getting worse.
