Video

Clinical Trials: Know the Basics

Author(s):

Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, M.D.

Clinical trials are essential in improving treatment in the world of oncology, especially for rare cancers.

Ghassan Abou-Alfa, M.D., a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the basics of clinical trials, and why participation in them is important.

Clinical trials play a vital role in moving the field of oncology forward. They assesses the safety of a drug, how effective it is in treating the disease and how it works compared to the current standard of care. Since some rarer cancers — like fibrolamellar cancer – do not have standards of care, phase 1 and phase 2 trials will suffice, and patient participation can be even more important.

Related Videos
Image of woman with blonde hair.
Image of woman with brown hair.
Image of woman.
Dr. Andreas M. Kaiser is a professor and chief of the Division of Colorectal Surgery in the Department of Surgery at City of Hope comprehensive cancer center in Duarte, California.
Dr. Guru Sonpavde emphasized the importance of better understanding how genetic mutations influence the treatment of cancer care, particularly GU cancers.
Image of woman with blonde hair.
Dr. Frederick L. Locke sat down with CURE® to discuss treatment with cema-cel in the ALPHA/ALPHA2 studies for relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma.
Dr. Park sat down for an interview with CURE® to discuss the key takeaways from the 2025 Annual ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.
Treatment with cemacabtagene ansegedleucel demonstrated responses in patients with relapsed or treatment-resistant large B-cell lymphoma.
There was no evidence that CAR T directly caused secondary malignancies, despite FDA warnings, citing prior treatments as the cause, according to research.
Related Content
Artificial Intelligence Enhances Polyp Detection in Colorectal Cancer
March 6th 2025

Artificial Intelligence Enhances Polyp Detection in Colorectal Cancer

Ryan Scott
Artificial intelligence aids in polyp detection, enhancing colonoscopy effectiveness and reducing the risk of colorectal cancer progression in patients.
Image of Dr. Fakih.
February 27th 2025

ctDNA Alone ‘Not Sufficient’ When Monitoring Patients With Colorectal Cancer

Dr. Marwan Fakih
The addition of ctDNA testing to radiographic surveillance resulted in curative surgical intervention for 1.6% of patients with colorectal cancer.
Image of doctor with brown hair.
February 25th 2025

Some KRAS Mutations Associated With Worse Outcomes in Pancreatic Cancer

Dr. Vaia Florou
In patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, KRAS G12D and G12V mutations hare associated with worse patient outcomes, researchers have found.
Dr. Megan Menon explains how patients can verify the authenticity of online prescription purchases for their cancer treatment.
February 21st 2025

How Patients With Cancer Can Avoid Counterfeit Therapeutics Online

Dr. Megan Menon
Dr. Megan Menon explains how patients can verify the authenticity of online prescription purchases for their cancer treatment.
Dr. Robert Jones is a professor of Clinical Cancer Research at The University of Glasgow School of Cancer Sciences, in Scotland.
February 15th 2025

Bavencio Has Efficacy in The Real-World Treatment of Urothelial Cancer

Dr. Robert Jones
Following treatment with Bavencio, patients with urothelial cancer lived for 17 months and their cancer remained stable for nine months.
Image of man with black hair.
February 3rd 2025

Rybrevant Alone and in Combo With Chemo is Efficacious in Wildtype+ mCRC

Ryan Scott
Dr. Filippo Pietrantonio discusses OrigAMI-1 trial data which assessed Rybrevant in mutated, wild-type, non-HER2-amplified metastatic colorectal cancer.