Updated April 4th, 2020

Coronavirus is Likely To Shut Down New Clinical Trials For Cancer– Denying Treatment Options To Desperate Patients

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How Clinical Trials Are Impacted By Covid-19

New clinical trials are not likely to move froward during the pandemic, which will effect cancer patients who desperately need treatments options
Existing clinical trials are likely to continue, if proper monitoring can be maintained
As a patient on an experimental protocol, you should push your doctor to make sure that you are safe
Covid-19 could have a major impact on the speed and progress of cancer research

For thousands of people participating in clinical trials for cancer, and many thousands more looking for experimental therapies, the coronavirus is presenting a serious problem. Access to clinical trials is already difficult for many cancer patients, but researchers tell SurvivorNet the opportunity to receive these new therapies may be paused all together during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“How can you think about putting people on trials when you don’t have a staff?” Dr. Roy Herbst, Chief of Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center and and Smilow Cancer Hospital, tells SurvivorNet. “You don’t want your patients to go to the hospital too much because you don’t want them or the clinical staff to be exposed. It’s not a great time to start new trials.”

For cancer patients who have run out of options, clinical trials are incredibly important. In some cases participation in an experimental protocol is the last hope for treatment.

While new enrollment into clinical trials might be temporarily suspended, current clinical trials are likely to go on, as long as physicians feel that their patients can be properly monitored.

New FDA Regulations For Clinical Trials During The Pandemic

At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just released a new set of recommendations concerning clinical trials during the COVID-19 pandemic. The FDA say it’s concerned about patient safety in a time when monitoring and following up is more difficult. The agency does seem to be allowing for monitoring of your treatment via telemedicine, and says it wants to facilitate the continuation of existing clinical trials.

As a patient on an experimental protocol, you should push your doctor to make sure that you are safe.

Huge Research Boom In Cancer Is Saving Lives

Recent data shows that the wave of new treatments being developed for cancer is actually having a tremendous impact by reducing the overall death rate. The United States saw a 2.2% drop between 2016 to 2017 of cancer-related deaths thanks to new developments in immunotherapy, the largest ever in a single year. This is directly linked the ability of researchers to enroll patients in clinical trials.

“Seek out multiple opinions as to the best care,” says Dr. Steven Rosenberg Chief of Surgery at the National Cancer Institute and pioneer of genetics and immunotherapy. “Finding a doctor who who is up to the latest of information is important, and it’s always important to get other opinions so that you can make the best decision,” Rosenberg told SurvivorNet in a previous interview.

Funding for clinical trials is essential for cancer patients and researchers, and is predominantly sponsored by pharmaceutical companies. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), over $800 million was funded towards clinical trials in 2017. Covid-19 halting these new trials will be a big hit for startups and pharmaceutical companies, but Dr. Herbst claims that funding will still be available.

Disruptions in clinical trials can put cancer patients in a tough position, but Dr. Herbst says that existing trial participants will still be monitored, and patients can find available trials through resources like the U.S. National Library of Medicine. or Trials Today.

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