The number of participants in phase 1 cancer clinical trials whose cancer responded to the treatment or remained stable has increased substantially. At the same time, treatment-related deaths remained very low, a new NCI study shows. Dr. Naoko Takebe discusses the findings and the importance of phase 1 trials.
A study in India has found that an ultra-low dose of the immunotherapy drug nivolumab (Opdivo) helped people with advanced head and neck cancer live longer. Because the dose is 6% of what’s often used in the United States and Europe, it may be more affordable.
Women living with HIV have up to six times the risk for cervical cancer than women in the general population. NCI’s Division of Cancer Prevention launched a new clinical trials network to address the complex “cascade” of care that includes screening, management, and precancer treatment for cervical cancer in women living with HIV.
In 2017, NCI funded a research network to provide precision medicine for pet dogs with cancer at six US veterinary schools of medicine. The goal was to perform canine immunotherapy trials and related studies to determine if dogs are useful models for informing human cancer research. NCI has now expanded its support of comparative oncology by funding a second canine immunotherapy clinical trials network.
Clinical Trials Information for Patients and Caregivers
TMIST (Tomosynthesis Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial) is a randomized breast cancer screening study that compares two types of Food and Drug Administration–approved digital mammograms for their ability to reduce advanced breast cancer. The trial will help researchers learn about the best way to find breast cancer in women who have no symptoms.
The FORTE (Five- or Ten-Year Colonoscopy for 1 or 2 Non-Advanced Adenomatous Polyps) study will help determine if certain people can wait for a follow-up colonoscopy after a routine screening colonoscopy. It is a randomized clinical trial for people who have one or two small, noncancerous polyps (adenomas) removed during a routine screening colonoscopy.
This phase 2 clinical trial will assess how well a combination of three drugs works to stop or slow down progression to multiple myeloma in people with high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma. Smoldering myeloma is a condition that can become symptomatic multiple myeloma, which causes organ damage by a buildup of abnormal plasma cells.
This clinical trial will compare two surgeries to see how well they work in reducing the risk of ovarian cancer in people at high risk because of a genetic mutation. People with mutations in their BRCA1 gene will undergo surgery to either remove both their ovaries and fallopian tubes or just their fallopian tubes. Doctors want to see if removing only the fallopian tubes will be as effective at preventing ovarian cancer while preserving some ovarian function.
This phase 3 trial is studying how well the targeted drug crizotinib (Xalkori) treats people with stage IB to stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer that has been removed by surgery and has a mutation in a protein called anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK). Researchers want to determine if giving crizotinib after surgery helps these people live longer.
