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March 5, 2015 - 4:19am | 34°F
Feist-Weiller Cancer Center provides clinical studies for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The cancer center brings together resources across LSU Health Shreveport to provide patients with interdisciplinary care using the latest research and treatments. Outreach and telemedicine programs successfully incorporate patients in underserved areas to Feist-Weiller Cancer Center clinical studies.
LSU Health Shreveport is a member of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG). In 2001, LSU Health Shreveport ranked 12th in SWOG for patient recruitment for clinical trials and subsequently was recognized by the National Cancer Institute. Feist-Weiller Cancer Center also participates in pharmaceutical sponsored studies, and physicians initiate and implement clinical studies for patients.
Fill out a request to learn about ongoing clinical studies at Feist-Weiller Cancer Center or call 318.813.1410. Toll-free 1.866.LSU.FWCC (578-3922).
FAQs ::: Clinical Studies
Participation in a clinical study is an important personal decision. FAQs provide basic information about clinical studies.
Clinical studies are research studies for newly developed treatments or investigational drugs that may reduce tumor size and eliminate symptoms better than treatments currently available. Each study answers scientific questions and tries to find a better way to prevent, screen for, diagnose or treat a disease. People who take part in cancer clinical studies have the opportunity to contribute to knowledge about the cancer, as well as progress in the treatment and prevention of cancer. People also receive up-to-date care from doctors who are cancer experts. The terms trial, protocol and study are used interchangeably.
Participants in clinical studies play a more active role in their own health care and gain access to new research treatments before they are widely available. Participants help others by contributing to cancer research and by possibly helping to find better treatments. Patients who participate in clinical studies are the first to receive the newest cancer treatments, as well as the best quality of care. Email your request to the program director to learn about ongoing clinical studies at Feist-Weiller Cancer Center.
All clinical studies have strict guidelines regarding who can participate. The factors that allow someone to participate in a clinical study are called "inclusion criteria," and factors that disallow someone from participating are called "exclusion criteria." These criteria are based on factors such as age, gender, the type and stage of a disease, previous treatment history, and other medical conditions. Before joining a clinical study, a participant must qualify for the study. Fill out a request to learn about ongoing clinical trials at Feist-Weiller Cancer Center.
Treatment studies seek patients with specific cancers to participate in the clinical study, while prevention studies need healthy participants or people with a high risk for developing cancer. It is important to note that inclusion and exclusion criteria are not used to reject people personally. Instead, the criteria are used to identify appropriate participants and keep them safe. Ask your doctor if you are eligible for any clinical studies.
If you are eligible for a clinical study, a doctor involved with the study or another member of the clinical studies team will carefully explain the details of the study to you and answer any questions you may have. You will be given a written copy of information about the study, called a consent form. It often is helpful to talk to family members and friends before joining a study.
No one is ever required to participate in a clinical study. Participation in a clinical study is completely voluntary, and a study participant may decide to stop participating without affecting their relationship with the doctor, other medical staff or their medical care.
Usually standard treatments exist that people can choose to receive instead.
Treatment studies may test a new cancer drug or new combinations of drugs, new surgery techniques or radiation therapy, or new treatment methods such as gene therapy.
Prevention studies test new approaches that doctors believe may lower the risk of a certain type of cancer, such as medicines, vitamins, minerals or other supplements. These studies look for the best way to prevent cancer in people who have never had cancer, to prevent cancer from returning or to prevent a new cancer from occurring in people who already have had cancer. New methods of testing for cancer may be studied to determine better ways of detecting cancer at the earliest stages when it is most treatable.
Cancer control studies test new medicines, supplements, or other techniques to treat or prevent cancer symptoms and the side effects of cancer treatments.
Clinical studies that involve the testing of a new drug progresses in an orderly series of steps, called phases. This allows researchers to answer questions about a drug’s effectiveness and protects the patient. Clinical studies usually are classified into one of three phases:
Phase I: These first studies evaluate how a new drug should be given (by mouth, injected into the blood or injected into the muscle), how often and what dosage is safe. A phase I study usually enrolls only a small number of patients, sometimes as few as a dozen.
Phase II: A phase II study continues to test the safety of the drug, and begins to evaluate how well the new drug works. Phase II studies usually focus on a particular type of cancer.
Phase III: These studies test a new drug, a new combination of drugs, or a new surgical or radiation therapy procedure in comparison to the current treatment standard. A participant usually will be assigned to the standard group or the new group at random (called randomization). Phase III studies often enroll large numbers of people and are conducted at many doctors' offices, clinics and cancer centers nationwide.
Feist-Weiller Cancer Center • 1501 Kings Highway • Shreveport, LA 71103
LSU Health Shreveport is an equal opportunity affirmative action institution.
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