New treatments for mesothelioma being studied

Because mesothelioma is very hard to control, the National
Cancer Institute (NCI) is sponsoring clinical trials (research
studies with people) that are designed to find new treatments
and better ways to use current treatments. Before any new
treatment can be recommended for general use, doctors conduct
clinical trials to find out whether the treatment is safe for
patients and effective against the disease. Participation in
clinical trials is an important treatment option for many
patients with mesothelioma. 

People interested in taking part in a clinical trial should talk
with their doctor. Information about clinical trials is
available from the Cancer Information Service (CIS) (see below)
at 1-800-4-CANCER. Information specialists at the CIS use PDQ®,
NCI's cancer information database, to identify and provide
detailed information about specific ongoing clinical trials.
Patients also have the option of searching for clinical trials
on their own. The clinical trials page on the NCI's
http://www.cancer.gov Web site, located at
http://www.cancer.gov/clinical_trials on the Internet, provides
general information about clinical trials and links to PDQ. 

People considering clinical trials may be interested in the NCI
booklet Taking Part in Clinical Trials: What Cancer Patients
Need To Know. This booklet describes how research studies are
carried out and explains their possible benefits and risks. The
booklet is available by calling the CIS, or from the NCI
Publications Locator Web site at
http://www.cancer.gov/publications on the Internet. More at
http://www.33mesothelioma.com