Clinical Trials

Clinical trials and research studies allow doctors to test experimental cancer treatments on patients for whom other methods have been unsuccessful. In some studies, all patients receive the same treatment, while in other trials one group receives standard treatment while another undergoes experimental treatment.

One of the most popular lung cancer clinical trials is the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST). Activated in 2002 by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), NLST is designed to screen people for lung cancer before they exhibit symptoms of the disease. The trial compares two ways of detecting lung cancer-spiral computed tomography (CT) and the standard chest X-ray-to see if one method of screening is more effective than the other. So far, researchers have found that neither method can prevent the onset of cancer nor reduce a patient's chances of dying from the disease, but they do agree that the earlier a tumor is detected, the better a lung cancer patient's chances of survival.

The study, which enrolled 50,000 people between September 2002 and February 2004, calls for all participants to receive either a CT scan or a chest X-ray (by random selection) when inducted, for all participants to be rescreened one and two years later, and for all participants to have their health closely and regularly monitored for the duration of the study.

Clinical trials are vital in developing new methods of lung cancer treatment and in working toward a cure for lung cancer.

To learn more about lung cancer treatment clinical trials, visit http://cancer.gov/clinical_trials.