Mesothelioma Clinical Trials

Mesothelioma clinical trial is done in across the globe due to the intensity of the problem associated with the disease.
A clinical trial is a research study undertaken on volunteers with the intention of finding various types of cures or treatments for mesothelioma or other cancerous diseases. Usually researchers conduct their experiments for treatment for this disease on animals so that there is a positive result prior to conducting the tests on human in a clinical trial. A typical clinical trial establishes if a mode of treatment is harmless and successful on humans, if it the appropriate way to give a drug, and its proper dosage. It also helps in finding out the side effects of the drugs, if any.
Some mesothelioma patients decide to take part in clinical trials so that they have a better control over their health, and improve their quality of life. Some common examples of medications tested through clinical trail are Pemetrexed or ALIMTA.
These drugs after clinical trial have been approved to treat pleural mesothelioma when combined with a standard chemotherapy agent, cisplatin. The negative effects of clinical trails are that experiments are conducted on humans who are patients. There is a risk of the experiments being positive and successful or might cause side effects on the patient. It does not offer any guarantees. Patients need to consult their doctors prior to getting involved in clinical trial.
Types of Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are conducted in segments or phases.
• A phase I clinical trial checks on how a particular drug works on a patient along with its side effects on various dosages. This indicates the effectiveness of a particular drug. Only a few patients take part in this kind of clinical trail.
• A phase II clinical trail includes more patients taking part and helps in further evaluating the effectiveness of the drug, its side effects and its safety.
• A phase III clinical trial involves collecting more information about the benefits and risks of a drug or a particular treatment. It involves a larger numbers of people and may be performed at various clinics or cancer centers.
In United States, clinical trails are conducted by the federal National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institute of Health. These clinical trails are sponsored by the NCI and undertaken by a group of doctors, hospitals, and cancer centers. Apart from this, various drug manufacturers, Non-profit organizations, biotechnology companies, nonprofit groups as well as independent physicians.
Benefits of taking part in a Mesothelioma Clinical Trial
Mesothelioma clinical trials offer opportunities to the patients to get good healthcare facilities along with doing their bit in helping in scientific researches to find a breakthrough in the field of mesothelioma cure. Some of the benefits to the patients taking part in a mesothelioma clinical trial are:
• new forms of treatments with mesothelioma drugs which might be more effective than the regular medications
• best of doctors and nurses will be involved in keeping a track of the health status of the patient and monitor for any side effects
• Free treatment
• Contentment about the service rendered in finding a cure for mesothelioma.