Clinical Trials, Mesothelioma, and Cancer

If you are interested in clinical trials you can ask your specialist for information or contact the Cancer Information Service of the National Cancer Institute. Many different clinical trials take place at various institutions throughout the country

A lot of people associate clinical trials with the term 'guinea pig' and fear that they are merely been used for experimentation purposes. However - understanding what is involved and educating yourself about a trial will alleviate any anxiety and enable you to make a rational decision as to whether you would like to take part.

Although the final decision is yours to make - Your family members and care providers may be able to support you through your options. I.e. help you to compile a list of questions to ask about the trial. Two of the most important questions to ask about the trial are what makes it different from standard treatments and are there any specific side-effects. You will also need to know how long the clinical trial will last and whether you will need to be hospitalised for the treatment.


You will also need to find out whether your medical insurance will cover the clinical trial, but the cost of drugs involved in most trials are usually covered by the trial itself. If you do decide to participate in a clinical trial you will receive more test and examinations than usual as your progress will need to be closely monitored. Also - if you decide that you want to withdraw from the study for any reason, you will find that that this is an allowable part of your contract

There are many experimental treatments for mesothelioma. One of the latest treatments is the drug Pemetrexed (Almita) which when used in conjunction with Cisplatin gave good test results in the laboratory as it was shown to shrink tumours at a much higher rate I.e. 15% - 25% more as opposed to other drugs.