Clinical Trials: Finding Tomorrow's Treatments

April 5, 2022

The content here appears in H4TG's Guide to Caring for Yourself inside A Calendar to Live By 2022

Content provided by Virginia Oncology Associates

What Are Clinical Trials?

Clinical trials are research studies performed in people that aim to find out if a new treatment, like a drug or medical device, is safe and effective to use. Clinical trials are a primary way of improving the current standard of care followed by medical providers, according to Dr. Michael A. Danso, Medical Director and Research Director with Virginia Oncology Associates. “All standards of care of today were a clinical trial yesterday – what we do today creates the treatments of tomorrow.”

Clinical trials are categorized in one of four different phases. Most new cancer treatments will typically go through Phases I, II and III. Not all therapies have a Phase IV clinical trial because this phase is not always necessary. “In these phases we are looking to discover first, is this treatment safe? And then, is it a better standard of care? These are the questions we look to answer,” Dr. Danso explains.

PLACEBOS. Many patients ask if there’s a chance that they will be given an inactive treatment, called a placebo. The use of placebos in cancer clinical trials is rare, but it does happen. In most trials, participants are either given the new treatment or they are given an existing treatment already approved to treat their cancer.

Participating in Clinical Trials

Today, clinical trial research is no longer conducted just at large university cancer centers or major hospitals, so more patients have easier access if they would like to participate in one without the need to travel as far.

Participating in clinical trials allows patients to access state-of-the-art investigational therapies while their own physician directs and closely monitors their care, so patients can remain at home near friends and family.

Cancer clinical trials are not just for patients who have stage IV, metastatic disease, according to Dr. Danso. “These studies can benefit all patients with cancer. With some therapies approved originally for stage IV, investigations may find that these are effective in an earlier stage. Often this improves patient outcome and survival.”

Clinical trials are available in most quality hospital systems, Dr. Danso says, so asking your provider is a good place to start to find out what is available; or visit the National Cancer Institute’s website to see all the currently enrolling trials.

LEARN MORE. Visit the National Cancer Institute’s website at cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/clinical-trials or visit virginiacancer.com/clinical-trials-research to learn more about clinical trials.

Archives

Archives

Recent Post

© 2025 Here for the Girls, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity
EIN 26-0606190
3709 Strawberry Plains Rd., Suite D
Williamsburg, VA 23188
Contact us at info@hereforthegirls.org

Our team is ready to support you, and the best way to get in touch is by emailing support@hereforthegirls.org. While we do not offer crisis services, we are committed to providing a trauma-informed environment and can guide you toward appropriate support. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency or crisis: Call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline; Call 911 if you or someone else is in immediate danger; Go to your nearest emergency room

For non-emergency support, consider these options: Contact your primary care provider for a referral to mental health services; Use SAMHSA's treatment locator at findtreatment.gov to find local providers; Call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for treatment referrals
cross linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram