The Benefits of Participating in a Myeloma Clinical Trial
The Benefits of Participating in a Myeloma Clinical Trial from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.
Myeloma specialist Dr. Abdullah Khan discusses why myeloma patients should consider joining a clinical trial, addresses safety protocols for trials, and shares how participation in research advances medicine.
Dr. Abdullah Khan is a hematologist specializing in multiple myeloma and plasma cell disorders at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – The James. Dr. Khan is also an assistant professor in the Division of Hematology at The Ohio State University. Learn more about Dr. Abdullah Khan.
See More from Myeloma Clinical Trials 201
Related Programs:
Understanding the Role of Clinical Trials As a Myeloma Treatment Option |
Considering Joining a Myeloma Clinical Trial? Questions to Ask Your Healthcare Team |
|
Transcript:
Katherine:
I’d like to turn to clinical trials now. Why should a myeloma patient consider participating in a clinical trial?
Dr. Khan:
The main potential benefit to a patient includes getting a new treatment for a disease before it’s even approved for other patient with multiple myeloma. Sure, clinical trials have risks and benefits, but participating in a clinical trial is probably also safer than ever.
What I mean by that is clinicians that participate in clinical trials are required to follow very strict rules and guidelines to make sure the participants are safe, and these rules are enforced by the federal government. Each clinical trial also follows a careful study plan, or protocol, and that describes what researchers will do and when they will do it.
And the principal investigator, or the lead researcher, for that clinical trial has the responsibility that the protocol is followed at every site that the study is available. So, generally, that also means participants will get more frequent health checkups as being part of the clinical trial. And by volunteering for a clinical trial, patients are helping themselves and also the general society for patients afflicted with multiple myeloma.
Katherine:
Right. Everyone who comes after them would be impacted. Why is patient participation in myeloma clinical trials critical to advancing research?
Dr. Khan:
Clinical trials help researchers better understand health and disease. Clinical trial participation is actually considered the gold standard of providing medical healthcare.
And, in fact, every therapy that is currently approved for myeloma right now is a direct consequence of participation of brave volunteers.
