When considering a clinical trial patients should always consult their treatment team and specifically their oncologist to determine if it is the best option for them. However, broaching this topic is understandably difficult and can be awkward for some. With this short educational piece patients will be better prepared to have this conversation with their doctor.
What to Know Before Broaching the Subject
It is important to understand background information about the process so that you can better use the limited amount of time an oncologist may have to get the most out of the conversation. One of the key things to know is what type of trial is best of each individual patient. For example, a person with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) could in theory have access to targeted therapy based clinical trials or immunotherapy based clinical trials. For patients to know what their best options are, it is helpful to consult trusted resources such as advocacy groups, navigation assistance such as Cheryl App, or their treatment team. It is also useful to know whether or not there are specific treatment options that should be considered an option alongside clinical trials. Information on treatment options should come from trusted resources or directly from a patient’s treatment team. This is useful because in some cases patients will qualify for trials with existing alternative treatments approved by the Food and Drug Association (FDA). In this case, talking to an oncologist about trials can become a conversation around which of the two options is more beneficial. For more information on this topic, consider consulting a dedicated 1104Health navigator.
Role of Your Doctor in a Trial
All trials are overseen by an oncologist and patients enrolled in the trial become a patient of the overseeing doctor, called the principal investigator (PI). Many times the doctor a patient sees regularly for their treatment and the PI of the trial they are interested in are not the same person. Because of this, it is important to know what the role the oncologist is in a trial for their patient. A patient’s oncologist helps patients and their loved ones make a decision on whether a trial is right for them or not based on things like the genetic makeup of the cancer, available treatment options, a patient’s treatment history, and weighing the risks and benefits of individual trials. Oncologists often refer patients into trials to expedite the process and ensure a warm hand off from their current treatment to the next step in their journey.
Ultimately, oncologists serve to guide patients in the process of joining a clinical trial by doing the following:
- Providing medical advice on which specific trial is the best option
- Referring patients to trials and/or helping enroll on a selected trial
- Answer questions about the trial itself and the treatments provided as part of the trial
What to Ask and How to be Prepared
When talking to oncologists about clinical trials it is important to come prepared and be as efficient as possible due to the limited time they may have with individual patients. As such, patients may find it helpful to have a list of questions prepared and a checklist of information needed.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of questions that patients could consider asking:
- Outside of clinical trials, what treatment options are available to me?
- What are the pros and cons of standard of care versus a clinical trial?
- Of the trials available to me, which is the best match for my treatment history and diagnosis?
The following is a non-exhaustive checklist of information patients could find useful:
- What are the results of my biomarker test (for relevant cancer types such as NSCLC)
- What is my treatment history
- What are my comorbidities
- What types of trials are available to me
It is also important to always keep in mind that a second opinion from a specialized oncologist can provide more definitive information. For help finding a specialist, consider asking your doctor or consulting the Cheryl App.
