Mesothelioma Clinical Trials

A clinical trial for mesothelioma is a research study in which you agree to receive treatment with promising new approaches that are being tested to find out if they are safe and effective. If you meet the trial's specific qualifications, your participation helps doctors find better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat your mesothelioma. The goal of the trial is to gain reliable information about the drug while protecting you, the patient.

If there is scientific evidence a new treatment may be beneficial, researchers develop a plan called a clinical trial protocol that is to be used by every doctor who treats participating patients using the new approach.

Clinical trials are divided into phases that measure both the safety of a new drug or treatment and its effectiveness for positively affecting the course of your disease. And though they can take a long time, the hope is that ultimately only beneficial drugs with acceptable side effects will be made available to those who need them. The FDA recently approved certain changes in their regulations to help speed up the approval of effective drugs, especially for cancer. More about Alimta here.

Trial Phases

Though mesothelioma has no known cure at this time, clinical trials are regularly being conducted to test new drugs and procedures to fight the disease. Each trial consists of three phases:

  • Phase I trials usually work with a small number of people to test how new drugs or procedures can best be given.
  • Phase II trials give early information about how a new drug or procedure works, what benefits it might give, and how safe it is for patients.
  • Phase III trials test new drugs or procedures against current standard treatments. This phase usually involves many people from across the nation who receive either the new treatment or the standard treatment.

 Click for answers to other questions you may have about mesothelioma clinical trials.

Eligibility

Accurate results from clinical trials require that participants fit a certain profile. Mesothelioma trials are often specific as to age, length of time since therapy, stage of disease, and other characteristics.

Current Clinical Trials

Staff at The Gathering Place (216.595.9546 coan@touchedbycancer.org) in Beachwood, Ohio, can provide help to anyone looking for a clinical trial.

The following are some of the clinical trials currently being conducted for mesothelioma treatments.

  • Alimta

    Eli Lilly and Company, which manufactures this drug, has agreed to let doctors test this drug with eligible mesothelioma patients. Patients are asked to work through their physicians for approval. Interested physicians should call (866) 347-9503 (Toll Free).
    Details about this study

  • Alimta

    Alimta Plus Gemcitabine as Front-Line Chemotherapy for Patients with Malignant Pleural or Peritoneal Mesothelioma: A Phase II Clinical Trial
    Protocol #: 13207

    If you want to find out more about this trial, please call the H. Lee Moffitt Center Clinical Trials Office at (813) 558-1689.

  • Taxotere + Iressa

    Phase II Study of Taxotere + Iressa in Previously Untreated Elderly (70+ years of age) Patients with Stage IIIb (with Malignant Pleural Effusion (MPE+) or IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
    Protocol #: 12905

    Details about this study
  • Extrapleural Pneumonectomy followed by Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT)

    Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) uses therapeutically significant radiation doses that spare nearby critical normal organs.
    Contact information for doctors conducting this study.

  
 

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