Finding A Clinical Trial

Sometimes participating in a clinical trial requires going the extra mile. Your doctor may not be familiar with every ongoing clinical study so you may need to conduct your own research to find the right trial. There are several resources that provide listings of ongoing trials and what the eligibility requirements are:

• The National Cancer Institute’s Clinical Studies Support Center will conduct free searches of clinical trials over the phone. Call toll free: 1-888-NCI-1937
  
  
• Cancer.gov— This is a valuable site and good starting point to find additional information about clinical trials and begin a search for government sponsored studies. The site also includes recent developments and clinical trial results. Cancer.gov offers a helpful guide to understanding the many clinical trials web sites that exist.
  
  
• Cancer Information Service—1-800-4CANCER (1–800–332–8615 TTY). The Cancer Information Service (CIS) is a program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Nation's lead agency for cancer research. The CIS is a resource for information and education about cancer and a leader in helping people become active participants in their own health care by providing the latest information on cancer. This service provides referrals to clinical trials and cancer-related services, as well as a number of other services for people with cancer.
  
  
• MedStarClinicalTrials.org provides information about clinical trials in the Baltimore - DC region, as well as links to cancer services, programs and oncology specialists at all MedStar hospitals.
  
  
• New Jersey Cancer Trial Connect—An effort by the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Governor James McGreevey, the NJCTC connects pharmaceutical companies and cancer treatment centers with doctors and patients using a Trial Directory Database. New Jersey cancer patients, their family members, and caregivers can enter patient information and quickly find clinical trial information tailored to their needs. New Jersey residents without Web access may register through the NJCTC Call Center at 866-788-3929 (Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, EST), which is staffed by multilingual health information specialists.
  
  
• NewMedicines.org—Lists new drugs in development for major cancer types and shows their development status. This site is sponsored by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
  
  
• CancerTrialsHelp.org—Is sponsored by the Coalition of National Cancer Cooperative Groups. The site contains TrialCheck, a searchable database of cancer clinical trials, as well as education and information about clinical trials, cancer drugs, patient advocates, and cancer research. The site will help you decide if a trial is right for you, a friend, or loved one. The site also includes an overview of the Cooperative Group System, which conducts more than half of the cancer clinical trials now under way, and lists trials that the groups are conducting.
  
  
• Centerwatch—Provides an extensive list of IRB- approved clinical trials being conducted internationally. Resources on the site include: listing of promising therapies recently approved by the FDA, confidential e-mail notification whenever relevant new trials are listed on the site matching of patients to trials and three comprehensive drug directories, which includes a Clinical Trials Results database on study results since January 2000.

Discussion Group

• iVillage.com Message Board—A caring and understanding community that discusses the benefits and drawbacks that clinical trials provide for medicine and most importantly, to the patient. The site also contains additional resources about clinical trials.
  

Discussion Transcript

• Read the transcript of an online discussion with Lance Armstrong, in which he talks about his survivor experience and the importance of cancer clinical trials.