Our man in Russia....a glimpse at the international nature of clinical research

A few years ago, we had the opportunity to host a 27-year old Russian oncologist in Oregon. This was a part of an international exchange sponsored by our professional society, ASCO.  Young oncologists from around the world were hosted by American institutions for a week to get some experience with research conducted in the US.  Who would have thought that our guy, Ilya Tsimafeyeu would become the CEO of RUSSCO, the Russian counterpart to ASCO, the American Society of Clinical Oncology.  

It was fun to see a recently interview with Ilya, or shall I say, the CEO.  Take a look at it here if you would like a glimpse of how things are going in Russia.

To put a smile on your face see Larry's latest cartoon.
To learn more about clinical trials, take a look at our book.

(c) 2012 Tom Beer and Larry Axmaker

Gold Nanoparticle Therapy to be used in first clinical trial

Like most of us, you have probably never heard of gold nanoparticle therapy. That’s not surprising. It's a new treatment that will be used for the first time in a cancer clinical to treat lung cancer. The process was invented by biomedical engineers, Naomi Halas and Jennifer West, at Rice University in Houston, Texas. The trial will be conducted by Cancer Treatment Centers of America.

When these nanoparticles were first tested in mice, the result was tumor remission in 100 percent of the experimental subjects.

The nanoparticles consist of microscopic balls of silica (glass) encased in a thin shell of gold. These nanoparticles are injected into the blood stream and absorbed by tumors—not healthy tissue.

After 12 to 24 hours, when the particles have been absorbed by the tumor, an infrared laser is used to heat the particles and destroy the tumor cell. Tumors are damaged or destroyed with minimal effect on healthy tissues.

The trial, approved by the FDA, will be conducted by Mark Lund, MD, Director of Interventional Pulmonology, Bronchoscopy & ICU at Eastern Regional Medical Center. Additional trials are planned for metastatic head and neck tumors and prostate cancer.

Successful results from these trials could provide new and minimally invasive treatment for some common cancers.

To put a smile on your face see Larry's latest cartoon.
To learn more about clinical trials, take a look at our book.

(c) 2012 Tom Beer and Larry Axmaker

Do people know about clinical trials? Some surprises

We often say that fewer than 5% of adults with cancer participate in clinical trials during the course of their cancer therapy.  What does the bigger picture look like?  A recent publication describes the results of a 2011 survey.  A nice summary of the key findings can be found in this article.  11% of adults reported ever participating in medical research - surprisingly higher than the percentage of cancer patients.  A full 64% were aware of research opportunities.  

Participation and awareness both were more likely among folks with higher incomes, more education, among older people, people suffering from chronic conditions, and people who live close to large clinical research centers.

Although one would think that the internet would be the number one source of information about medical research (and our blog readers might think so too), participants in the survey cited television as the most common source at 53%!  46% cited radio, 44% newspaper ads, 22% the internet, and 21% learned about a research opportunity from a pamphlet in their doctor's office.  

All in all, it looks like folks living with cancer participate in medical research less than the general adult population - a surprise.  And the internet appears not to be the number 1 (or even 2 or 3) source of information about medical research for US adults - a bigger surprise.  This may change as the internet gains prominence, but we should not assume that "old media" no longer matter in spreading the word about medical research opportunities.  

To put a smile on your face see Larry's latest cartoon.
To learn more about clinical trials, take a look at our book.

(c) 2012 Tom Beer and Larry Axmaker