|
Back
to Database
How to Use the Pancreatic Cancer
Clinical Trials Database
For educational purposes only; not to
be relied upon. Please read Pancreatica Disclaimer
General
This is a searchable database of
clinical trials against cancer of the pancreas. The largest in
the world. The database consists both of ongoing clinical trials
directly related to pancreas cancer and of those related to general
or "solid" tumors (including pancreatic cancer) using
drug-agents which are of interest to researchers in the field
of pancreatic cancer. There are a number of terms and concepts
which are used in this database which are explained in the FAQ
or other sections of this web-site. Before proceeding further,
please review the Disclaimer. Also,
please review the section on clinical trials in the FAQ section
of this site, and the NCI publication, "Understanding Clinical Trials."
The clinical trials database is not an
exhaustive list of all of the trials which are ongoing for pancreatic
cancer. The listing of the clinical trials is in an arbitrary
or random order. Clinical trials occurring in other countries
may not be approved by the U.S. FDA and may not meet the standards
of the FDA. There are advantages and disadvantages to clinical
trials, and you need to be fully aware of these before entering
a clinical trial.
Pancreatica.org receives no remuneration
related to patients joining any of the clinical trials which
are listed on this site. Although aspects of the database are
updated regularly, major updates are only done on a periodic
basis (several times per year). Thus, some trial information
may not be current. If you find information which is not current,
please contact the Webmaster.
Patients are strongly encouraged to work closely with their own
physicians and health care providers in making treatment decisions.
Typically, the terms of a clinical trial
are spelled out in a large document which is called a protocol.
Some of the information in this database has been gathered from
such sources. There may be errors in the database, so you should
double-check any of this information with the institution or
the sponsor of the trial. If you find any errors in our database,
please let us know at webmaster@pancreatica.org.
The sequence of a clinical trials database
search is as follows. On the
Database
Search page you select a type of search, including the search
criteria. After completing the search, a Mini View of all of
the consistent trials is displayed. Then, upon clicking on the
Trial Name section of a given trial in the Mini View, the Full
View of that clinical trial will be displayed.
Selected
Nuts and Bolts of the Database
The Trial ID number is an identifier which is internally generated
by us. It is used for reference and as way to get back to a trial
which may be of interest to a visitor.
The Phase of the trials are given in numeric
numbers (rather than Roman numerals). Occasionally a trial will
be a phase I/II trial; this is listed as 1/2 and is listed under
phase 2 trials.
There are several nomenclatures for the
staging of pancreatic cancer. This whole topic is controversial.
The way in which we have presented this in the database is as
follows. The five listed disease stages are: Potentially surgically
resectable, Locally advanced, Advanced, Not specified and Other.
The "Potentially surgically resectable" category roughly
corresponds to Stage I; "Locally advanced" includes
much of what might be classified as Stage II; and the "Advanced"
category includes such classifications--from other nomenclatures--as:
non-resectable, refractory, recurrent, metastatic, loco-regional,
stage IV, stage III, and possibly even certain extensive stage
II tumors.
"Main exclusion criteria" has
to do with factors which may disqualify you for the clinical
trial.
"Prior therapy allowed" indicates
whether the protocol of the clinical trial will allow you to
participate in the trial if you have already had certain other
previous treatments.
"Treatment interval" refers to
the minimum amount of time that the protocol may require you
to be off of therapy before beginning the clinical trial.
The "Bibliography" is a section
of the database which typically gives medical article citations,
as selected by us, that may roughly apply to the clinical trial.
Searching Strategies
Of the approximately ten ways to search the database, depending
on individual characteristics some are more practical than others.
If you are on therapy or have had treatment
for pancreatic cancer, it may save time to first search by "Prior
therapy allowed." Location searches allow U.S. State searches,
as well as that of most areas of the world (a Keyword search
will look for cities). The Treatment section is based on our
category classification. For example, a search for vaccine trials
against pancreatic cancer would be initiated by clicking the
drop-down menu under Immunotherapy. As hinted at above, a Keyword
search can be used in any number of ways. And finally, the Advanced
searching function allows for multiple variables to be used in
a given query.
Patients are strongly encouraged to work
closely with their own physicians and health care providers in
making treatment decisions.
|
