There are many ways to find out what your treatment choices are. Talk with your doctors and get the opinion of cancer specialists (oncologists). You should not be afraid to ask for a second opinion. A helpful treatment information system called PDQ is supported by the National Cancer Institute. PDQ can give your doctor the latest information on clinical trials being offered around the country for each type and stage of cancer. This ready reference is kept up to date.

A. Yes. For some vulvar cancer patients, treatment may involve a clinical trial. Clinical trials are studies conducted with the consent of patients to evaluate a new treatment. Speak with your doctor. Click here for more information on clinical trials.

For a current list of all clinical trials at the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hosptial and Solove Research Institute, click here.

The National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), operates a toll free number with information about treatments for cancer. That number is 800-4-CANCER. The National Library of Medicine at NIH has developed a Clinical Trials database to provide patients, family members and members of the public current information about clinical research studies. NIH also operates a toll free number with information on clinical trials of drugs used to treat AIDS.

Several clinical trials to evaluate prostate cancer are underway. View information about prostate cancer clinical trials.

At any given time, Urology San Antonio has approximately two dozen clinical trials or research studies, in progress. Each trial has specific criteria for participation. You may review a list of current trials at the Enrolling Trials page of our website. Health insurance is not necessary to participate in a clinical trial, and most trails include compensation (stipend) for the patient's participation.

The Clinical Trials section of this Web site provides a searchable database listing the currently active clinical trials at UPMC Cancer Centers and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) (joint effort). Additionally, CIRS has summaries of all the current clinical trials conducted by UPMC/UPCI. Summaries of these studies can be sent to your physician or directly to you to share with your physician.

Yes, clinical trials are available for stomach cancer. Patients may consider clinical trials as a means of treatment. Clinical trials are studies of promising new or experimental treatments and are performed on patients. Clinical trials are performed only when the treatment being studied is likely to be of value to the patient. Participating in a clinical trial is up to the patient.

That depends on the results of the current trials and how those results are interpreted by the appropriate regulatory agencies.

You can find information on additional clinical trials of Tarceva (erlotinib) by visiting ClinicalTrials.gov

Cancer statistics on this Web site are generally presented for each of the major cancer sites. For most of the online tools and reports, you can select from a list of the major sites to access the statistics.

Most of the statistics published on the SEER Web site are presented by cancer site. You can select from lists of the most common cancers to access a fact sheet (Cancer Stat Fact Sheets), online charts, graphs and tables (Fast Stats), and charts and tables in PDF format (Cancer Statistics Review). See FAQ #6 for more information on other cancers.

Treatments that show a certain level of effectiveness in phase II studies usually must go through one more stage of testing before being approved for general use. Phase III clinical trials compare the safety and effectiveness of the new treatment against the current standard treatment. Phase III clinical trials require a large number of patients, usually at least several hundred. These studies are generally conducted in many places across the country (or even across the world) at the same time.

NCCAM is sponsoring a number of clinical trials to study complementary and alternative treatments for cancer. Some of these trials study the effects of complementary approaches used in addition to conventional treatments, while others compare alternative therapies with conventional treatments. Recent trials include the following: Patients who are interested in taking part in these or any other clinical trials should talk with their health care provider.

Cancer trials rarely use placebos (a dummy treatment containing no drug). In trials that compare the experimental treatment to the best standard treatment, patients are usually "randomized" (chosen at random) to one of two different groups: the "treatment group," which is given the experimental treatment, and the "control group," which is given the standard treatment. In this situation, the patient gets assigned to one group or the other and may or may not receive the experimental therapy.

Scientists study ways to prevent, detect, diagnose, control, and treat cancer. They may also measure the psychological impact of cancer and determine ways to improve a patient’s comfort and quality of life. Many clinical trials study new treatments; they may be studied alone or along with surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or newer types of therapies.

Cancer clinical trials are conducted in hopes of finding better ways to prevent and treat cancer. Clinical trials answer important scientific questions, which can lead to future advances in care. Most of today's standard treatments are based on previous clinical trial results. Because of the progress made in clinical trials, many people with cancer are living longer. In addition to improved survival rates, clinical trials have contributed to:

Anyone who meets the medical eligibility requirements can participate. U.S. citizens and permanent residents are given first priority. Because patient safety is of the highest concern, the NCI principal investigator and the research team make the final decision about enrolling a patient during the screening visit.

You can find information on additional clinical trials of Tarceva (erlotinib) by visiting ClinicalTrials.gov

Gleevec (STI571) was originally developed to inhibit a particular enzyme (tyrosine Kinase) which is produced by the Bcr-Abl oncogene and is believed to drive the unregulated production of white blood cells. The Bcr-Abl oncogene is present in 95% of CML (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia) patients and about 20% of ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) patients.

For a digital rectal exam, the doctor gently inserts a gloved, lubricated finger into the rectum and feels for abnormal areas. Fifteen percent of colorectal cancers can be detected by digital rectal examination. The stool test for blood (FOBT) checks for hidden or occult blood in the stool. Sometimes colorectal cancers can cause bleeding that cannot be seen. For this test, a small amount of stool is placed on a plastic slide or on special paper.

NCI's online Physician Data Query (PDQ®) comprehensive cancer database contains peer-reviewed summaries on cancer treatment, screening, prevention, genetics, and supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine and a registry of approximately 2,000 open and 13,000 closed cancer clinical trials from around the world.

Cancer Clinical Trials are research studies conducted with volunteers. Each study is designed to learn better ways to prevent, diagnose or treat a disease. The mission of the Cancer Clinical Trials Department at Anne Arundel Medical Center is to ensure that cancer patients and community members have every opportunity to participate in Cancer Clinical Trials.

There are different types of Cancer Clinical Trials depending on what the doctors are trying to learn: Supportive care or quality of life trials study ways to improve comfort and quality of life for cancer patients.

Cancer Clinical Trials are sponsored by government agencies, by cooperative groups of hospitals or doctors, by commercial companies testing new drugs or medical devices, or by individual doctors and hospitals.

In the past, cancer clinical trials were sometimes seen as a last resort for people who had no other treatment choices. Today, patients with common cancers often choose to receive treatment in a clinical trial. Some people are excited about the possibility of participating in a clinical trial. Others do not wish to participate.

Clinical trials are nationwide tests on advanced cancer treatment drugs and techniques. As a member facility, the results and resources are available to our patients.

We have recently completed enrollment of a 316-patient, 6 single-center trial of GPi versus STN DBS for Parkinson's disease, and we continue to collect data on those patients. We are nearing completion of a phase II, 8-center trial of gene transfer, introducing a gene encoding a growth factor, for Parkinson’s disease. We have ongoing trials to study new DBS devices, new technical approaches to DBS including use of interventional MRI, and brain physiology in movement disorders.