Cancer research

When you need treatment for your cancer, clinical trials may be an option for you. Choosing to join a clinical trial is something only you, those close to you, and your physicians can decide together.

The Asante Cancer Research Department coordinates clinical trials for oncology patients. The team is made up of three oncology-certified nurses, a program coordinator and a regulatory specialist who work with the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute.

They participate in national and regional partnerships to provide access to clinical trials for the people of Southern Oregon and Northern California.

If you are interested in learning more about research or participating in a research study, please talk with your doctor. Your participation in a clinical trial may help to find a cure for cancer.

Oncology clinical trials:

• Seek to increase what is known about treatment for cancer patients
• Are run by either the National Cancer Institute or pharmaceutical companies
• Include goals such as:
  • Testing for specific genetic markers for targeted therapy
  • Combining treatments in new ways
  • Testing new therapies for the first time in humans
  • Identifying community patterns of treatment for different types of cancer. 

Research nurses:

• Screen oncology patients for potential eligibility to participate in a clinical trial
• Work with the patient’s oncologist to obtain the patient’s consent
• Ensure patients meet the study eligibility criteria
• Manage the patients trial participation

Management of patients in trials includes:

• Coordinating lab, imaging and clinic appointments
• Attending clinic visits to assess adverse events
• Collecting quality of life assessments
• Evaluating the need for modifying dosages
• Entering data in the trial database to be evaluated by the study statisticians

The regulatory team

The program coordinator and regulatory specialist ensure compliance with the Code of Federal Regulations that guides how research is done and protects human research participants by:

• Submitting research documentation to an Institutional Review Board (IRB) for approval. IRBs are made up of both scientists and non-scientists and protect the rights of research participants
• Collecting information on equipment calibration, lab normal ranges, temperature monitoring
• Entering study data
• Coordinating monitoring and audit visits from trial sponsors

The cancer research team at Asante is honored to work to improve treatment options for patients now and in the future and proud to contribute to research efforts that over the decades have provided the evidence that shaped the current standards of care for oncology patients both in the United States and abroad.

For more information, call (541) 789-5003 or email research@asante.org

Suggested reading

https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education#clinical-trials

https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/clinical-trials/what-you-need-to-know/clinical-trial-basics.html

http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov

http://www.nih.gov

http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/