Clinical Trials
Improvements in cancer care rely on the evidence gained from clinical trials on patients. Participation in these trials has obvious benefits for the development of new medicines but there are also benefits for the patients who participate in the studies.
Cancer patients taking part in studies have the opportunity to receive new potentially more effective treatments and also receive detailed, special monitoring and close medical and nursing supervision that comes with participation in a trial.
The extra monitoring aspects have been shown in themselves to improve the outcome and survival of cancer patients over and above those not treated within a clinical trial.
The NHS Cancer Plan has identified specific funds to support research infrastructure across cancer networks with the aim of doubling the numbers of patient recruited to clinical trials considered to be of national importance. Over the last 5-10 years several thousands of our patients have taken part in large multi-centre trials.
Trials are often carried out in the following areas:
- Breast cancer
- Gastrointestinal tumours
- Gynaecological cancer
- Lung cancer
- Lymphoma
- Melanoma
- Sarcoma
Proposed research
More information about the Trust's involvement in clinical trials and drug development can be found at http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/A-C/co/research/index.html