Clinical Trials for Kidney Cancer

Surgical advances are being made in kidney cancer including: using special circulatory bypass techniques to remove tumors that previously were considered unresectable, and using different energy forms, such as radiofrequency (heat) or cryotherapy (cold), to treat kidney tumors. Also, some experimental immune therapies are being researched, such as doing mini stem cell transplants to create immune responses to the tumor; patients may be able to seek help through such a clinical trial, which has the most up-to-date information on treating a disease.

Patients who take place in clinical trials have the first chance to benefit from treatments that have shown promise in earlier research. They also make an important contribution to medical science by helping doctors learn more about the disease. Although clinical trials may pose some risk, researchers take careful steps to protect people who take part.

Clinical trials come in four phases. In Phase I trials, investigators try to determine the most effective and safe dosage. In Phase II trials, which involve a larger group of patients, researchers hope to build on what they learned in the first phase by trying to establish response rates and response durations, and by trying to determine what side effects will occur. In Phase III trials, researchers compare the experimental treatment with the standard treatment. In Phase IV trials, researchers monitor the effects of long-term usage.

For Hutchinson Center Clinical Trials, click here.

For our Patient Guide to Clinical Trials, click here.

Listen to SCCA's Medical Director, Dr. F. Marc Stewart, as he speaks about Clinical Trials: Myths and Facts, in a recent Patient Power interview. More >

For further information on clinical trials, a patient should talk to his or her doctor.

December 2007