As an active participant in your health care, you will want to take an assertive role in getting the best possible treatment for ovarian cancer. One approach would be to research what new drugs and treatment regimens are being tested in clinical trials.

A clinical trial is a research study that evaluates new treatment options. It may also be called a clinical study or research protocol. The purpose of a clinical trial is to determine whether a newer treatment option is safe and effective. It is likely that the current therapy you are receiving for ovarian cancer was proven effective based on past clinical trials.

During your treatment, your doctor may suggest that you consider being part of a clinical trial. This does not mean that you are being asked to be a “guinea pig” or that there are no other treatment options. A clinical trial is appropriate when there is some reason to believe that the newer treatment being studied may be a good option for some patients. Clinical trials are carried out in steps called phases. Each phase is designed to answer certain questions:

• Phase I: a new treatment that has been well tested in the laboratory in animal studies is given to a small number of patients to determine whether it has anticancer activity, to determine what dose of medication is best tolerated, and to determine if it can be taken safely by humans.
  
  
• Phase II: a study done to evaluate the effects of the treatment on various types of cancer once the treatment is found to be safe and effective in a Phase I study.
  
  
• Phase III: a study done that compares the new treatment with a best standard treatment available to see which is more effective. Therefore, when you are in a Phase III treatment trial, you will be receiving either a newer treatment or the best standard treatment, and not a placebo as some people mistakenly think.

Risks and side effects exist with almost any treatment, whether it is a part of a standard therapy or given in a clinical trial. Many safeguards are in place to make clinical trials as safe as possible and to protect your rights as a patient. Every hospital is required by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to have an Institutional Review Board (IRB) that is made up of doctors from different specialties, nurses, ethicists, administrators, and members of the public who must review and approve any research involving human subjects. If you are considering participation in a clinical trial, you will want to discuss it with your physician and make certain that you understand the informed consent form before you sign it. For thousands of patients, clinical trials provide an opportunity for the best available treatment. Not only do patients frequently share feeling satisfied that they have obtained quality treatment, but they often report feeling a sense of contributing to the greater good for people with cancer.

U.S. National Institutes of Health

National Cancer Institute

Please note that no one site includes all trials being conducted for ovarian cancer.

MOCA does not endorse any specific research study or clinical trial.

Ask your doctor about finding a clinical trial that may be right for you.