Why Should CLL Patients Consider Participating in a Clinical Trial?
Why Should CLL Patients Consider Participating in a Clinical Trial? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
What is a CLL clinical trial, and why should patients consider participation? CLL expert Dr. Adam Kittai explains the purpose of clinical trials and how patients can benefit.
Dr. Adam Kittai is a hematologist and an assistant professor at the The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – The James. Learn more about Dr. Kittai, here.
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Transcript:
Katherine:
So, a key part in moving forward with CLL research is clinical trials, right? So, for people who may not know the term, what is a clinical trial?
Dr. Kittai:
Yeah. So, a clinical trial is an experiment where patients are enrolled to receive a treatment that is either new or new in a new setting – so, an old treatment in a new setting – and we’re looking to see whether or not the treatment leads to improved outcomes for our patients.
Katherine:
Why would a CLL patient consider participating in a trial? What’s the benefit for them?
Dr. Kittai:
Yeah, great question again. The benefit of a clinical trial is two-fold. One is that by participating in a clinical trial, we are collecting data to determine what’s best for patients moving forward. So, in a way, by participating in a trial, you’re contributing to the benefit of CLL patients in the future to help us determine what’s best for everybody moving forward. That’s one reason to go on a clinical trial. Another reason to go onto clinical trials is that it allows for access to therapies that may not be available otherwise, which may work better than what we already have and may be safer.
