Clinical trials

Clinical trial.gov is the best place to search. Check the NCCN.Org site to see what the standard treatment protocols are once you get your stage and grade of cancer. Clinical trials are just that-trying something experimental ( chemo or combinations of chemo changing dosages, timing, combinations of old and new drugs or devices). Your physician is not going to recommend a clinical trial without trying the current

evidence based treatment protocols. I sure hope you don’t need to enroll in a clinical trial from the very start of treatment. Please know all of us here on this discussion board are here to support you! Keeping you in my prayers that you can have the standard established treatment protocols! 

Lori

pinky104 said:

Clinical Trials

When I got my UPSC in 2010, my GYN/onc. thought I would be a good candidate for a clinical trial as I'd worked as a coder in the medical field.  He looked for trials for stage IVb and could find absolutely no trials for stage IV UPSC.  Of course, that was a long time ago, so things may have changed drastically by now.  I suppose most people with stage IV aren't into being guinea pigs, and are just trying to survive.

Here is a relevant article. It seems Stage 4 patients in China are more willing to participate in clinical trials. The author suggests that Chinese people trust/believe in science and Americans are more suspicious of it. I really don't care who wins "Sputnik 2.0" as long as we have access to new cancer treatments. 

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/21/585336506/doctors-in-china-lead-race-to-treat-cancer-by-editing-genes

I didn’t know the stage or actual grade of my cancer until I received the pathology report following my hysterectomy. The uterine biopsy I had prior to surgery suggested that I had a grade 2 cancer which was incorrect. I had uterine papillary serous carcinoma- always an aggressive/grade 3 cancer. With this specific type of cancer, whether or not it is mixed in with endometriod cancer (usually a grade one cancer but sometimes can be a grade 2 or 3), chemo and possibly radiation are recommended. I don’t think you are a candidate for clinical trials at this point. The gynecologic oncologist will treat you according to the research based standard of care. That is, if you are healthy enough to handle it, 6 rounds of Carboplatin and Paclitaxel ( also called Taxol).

There are 4 phases to clinical trials.  Phase 1: Evaluates the safety and maximum dose of the  new drug that could be given safely. The Researchers look for evidence of efficacy. Phase II: Evaluates safety and effectiveness but usually are not designed to show if the drug is more effective than the standard treatment.  Phase III: Designed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the new treatment. Effectiveness and side effects are compared to the old current treatment.  Phase IIII: Is designed to evaluate the long term effectiveness and safety of the new drug or treatment. All clinical trials are blind studies that follow research protocol. Participants are randomly assigned to either an Experimental group receiving the new treatment or a Control group receiving the old standard of care. Neither the researchers nor the participants know which group a woman is assigned to. Clinical trials look at the broad picture; if a woman benefits from the treatment than that is welcomed yet is incidental to the research. I  hope this helps.

Warm Wishes,

Cathy

I have been thinking about clinical trials and how important this research is in providing better treatment options, including possible cures for cancer and all other diseases. Anyone who agrees to participate in a clinical trial is, in my humble opinion,  a heroine. She cannot know at the time of her partipation whether or not it will lead to a cancer treatment breakthrough.  I realize that my treatment with Taxol and Carboplatin was based on the results of prior clinical trials. The women who participated in this research may have very well saved my life.