By Kathy LaTour

Any new approach, treatment or therapy for cancer must adhere to the same painstaking research and trial process. In addition to drug therapy, this includes uses of complementary therapies, methods of prevention and early detection and new understandings and interventions for supportive care issues. This means patients and survivors must know of such research and get involved.
There are thousands of research trials under way in the United States. On this page, CURE will endeavor to keep you informed of such research by offering a sampling of available clinical trials. Many clinical trials in the listed areas are offered only at one or two sites and will not be included in our sampling, which will offer multicenter trials. To research these or other areas of interest, go to www.clinicaltrials.gov and search using the key word.

Prevention

Study: Selenium and vitamin E cancer prevention trial (SELECT),
phase III

Eligibility: Healthy men 50 years and older

Purpose: To assess the effect of these agents alone or in combination on the clinical incidence of prostate cancer

Design: Participants are randomized to take selenium alone, vitamin E alone, both or placebo

Key word: selenium

Study: Selenium in preventing cancer in patients with neoplasia of the prostate, phase III

Eligibility: Men 40 years and older diagnosed with neoplasia and no evidence of cancer

Purpose: To study the effectiveness of selenium in preventing prostate cancer in patients with neoplasia of the prostate

Design: Participants receive either selenium or placebo

Key word: selenium

Vaccines

Study: CG8123 cancer vaccine given with and without cyclophosphamide for advanced stage non —small-cell lung cancer, phase II

Eligibility: Stage 3B or 4 lung cancer patients and other factors

Purpose: To determine if a vaccine made from a patient’s lung cancer tumor cells will be effective in making the cancer shrink or disappear

Design: Some participants receive the vaccine alone and others receive the vaccine with cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan)

Key word: CG8123

Eligibility: Stage 4 pancreatic cancer patients who failed a gemcitabine-containing chemotherapeutic regimen within the past three months and other factors

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of vaccine in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor versus best supportive care or palliative chemotherapy

Design: Some participants receive the vaccine and others receive regular supportive care or palliative chemotherapy

Key word: PANVAC-VF

Supportive Care

Study: Low-dose testosterone in improving libido in postmenopausal female cancer survivors, phase III

Eligibility: Postmenopausal cancer survivors who have a sexual partner and are experiencing low sexual desire or libido

Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of low-dose testosterone in postmenopausal survivors with a decreased libido

Design: Participants receive topical testosterone once daily for four weeks or placebo for four weeks before switching to testosterone

Key word: testosterone

Study: Valerian for improving sleep in patients with cancer receiving adjuvant therapy, phase III

Eligibility: Cancer patients receiving adjuvant therapy

Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of the herb Valerian in improving quality of sleep in patients receiving adjuvant treatment (radiation, chemotherapy or hormone therapy)

Design: Some participants receive oral Valerian once a day for eight weeks; others receive placebo for eight weeks and then switch

Key word: Valerian

Study: Acupressure in treating nausea in women receiving combination chemotherapy for breast cancer, phase III

Eligibility: Breast cancer patients receiving specific drug combinations and other criteria

Purpose: To determine effectiveness of acupressure in treating women receiving combination chemotherapy

Design: Participants receive acupressure plus usual nausea care, placebo acupressure plus usual nausea care or regular nausea care alone

Key word: acupressure

Editor’s Note: We encourage researchers interested in educating CURE readers to send their trial information to kathyl@curetoday.com. Listing is at the discretion of CURE editors.