Lung Cancer Clinical Trials and Other Research
Overview
At MSK, we can offer some people the latest lung cancer treatments possible through our clinical trials. In fact, almost every cancer treatment used today began as a clinical trial.
MSK is a leader in cancer clinical trials. We often have many trials at a time, researching different types of cancers.
MSK is home to one of the largest clinical trial programs in the country. This means that we offer more cancer clinical trials than many other cancer centers in the U.S.
We offer lung cancer clinical trials in Manhattan and at some of our regional locations, including:
- Long Island: Commack and Nassau
- New Jersey: Basking Ridge, Bergen, and Monmouth
- Westchester: West Harrison
MSK runs one of the country’s largest cancer clinical trials programs. An MSK clinical trial may give you access to new treatments that are not yet available at most hospitals. Watch our short video that can help you decide if a clinical trial is right for you.
MSK experts can help you understand your choices and whether a clinical trial is right for you.
What are the types of clinical trials?
There are different kinds of clinical trials. These research studies help find new and better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. They also may help support people living with cancer.
- Treatment trials test new therapies for cancer. Treatment trials test new drugs, drug combinations, and devices. They test new ways of doing procedures, surgery, or radiation therapy. They also test treatments that could have fewer side effects.
- Prevention trials test better ways to prevent people from getting cancer or lower the chances people will get cancer.
- Diagnostic trials study better tests and procedures used to diagnose cancer.
- Screening trials test better ways to find cancer, even before you have symptoms.
- Quality-of-life trials study ways to help people with cancer live comfortably.
Joining a lung cancer clinical trial is voluntary. The choice is yours. You can stop anytime if you feel uncomfortable or do not want to stay in the trial.
In all MSK clinical trials, our doctors and scientists work closely together. Their job is to make sure people who join clinical trials are kept safe.
Before you decide to join a lung cancer clinical trial, MSK researchers will talk with you about what to expect. They’ll talk about any possible issues and answer all your questions.
Clinical trials are not just for people who have advanced cancer
You may have many questions about cancer research, such as:
- Do you have to pay to join a clinical trial?
- What is an informed consent and why is it so important?
- What if you get a placebo (pluh-SEE-boh)? (A placebo is something that’s not a real treatment.)
Why Clinical Trials Are Important
Medical oncologist Dana Rathkopf explains why clinical trials are so important, and what people need to know before enrolling in a trial.
What does the phase of a clinical trial mean?
Clinical trials are research studies. All clinical trials are done in steps, called phases. These phases are numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4 (I, II, III, and IV). You may hear about phase 0 clinical studies, but they’re often not part of the clinical trial process.
New cancer treatments must go through different phases before they’re available for everyone. If the treatment is successful in one phase, it will move on to the next one. People most often take part in just one phase of a clinical trial.
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Phase 1
The first step in testing a new treatment is called a phase 1 clinical trial. Researchers want to learn the right dosage of a drug that works best for a certain type of cancer. They want to understand how the treatment affects the body.
Sometimes the treatments work, but researchers do not know for sure they will work. That’s why phase 1 studies most often involve only 20 to 80 people.
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Phase 2
A phase 2 clinical trial most often studies how well a new treatment works in a bigger group. It can involve up to 100 people who have a similar type of cancer. Treatment uses the dose and method that the phase 1 trial found was safest and worked best.
Some phase 2 research studies use a method called randomization to assign people to a treatment group. People are chosen by chance to join a group.
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Phase 3
Phase 3 clinical trials compare new cancer treatments with standard treatments. They often involve between 300 and 3,000 people.
In phase 3 trials, researchers try to see which treatment is safer and works best. They test which treatment helps people live longer, with a better quality of life. They look for whether there are fewer side effects, and whether cancer came back in fewer people.
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Phase 4
A phase 4 clinical trial studies a treatment after the FDA approves it. It assesses the side effects, risks, and benefits of a drug or other therapy. The trial lasts a long period of time and tests more people than phase 3 trials. Thousands of people are in a phase 4 trial.
There are no phase 4 clinical trials at MSK.
Clinical trials are designed to keep you safe. Researchers must follow strict rules. Every clinical trial is approved and monitored by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) and government agencies. They make sure the trial is safe.
The IRB makes sure that the risks are as low as possible, and there are more benefits than risks.
MSK scientists plan trials very carefully. They closely watch over people in the trial and follow rules to handle any problems. They can stop the trial if something does not seem right.
Open lung cancer clinical trials at MSK
As a research institution, MSK runs one of the world’s largest cancer clinical trials programs.
Demystifying Clinical Trials: A Comprehensive Guide to The Science of Hope
MSK research experts answer the most common questions about joining clinical trials.
How is MSK researching new lung cancer treatments?
MSK has hundreds of clinical trials aimed at improving care for many types of cancer. We have more than 900 cancer clinical trials. Our experts can talk with you about which clinical trials may be right for you.
You can read about some of the areas we’re exploring right now in our lung cancer clinical trials.
- We’re testing whether a personal cancer vaccine called V940 can keep lung cancer from coming back. A phase 3 study used the vaccine together with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab to help fight cancer. It’s for people who had surgery for lung cancer, followed by chemotherapy.
- We’re testing whether a drug called sotorasib works well as the first treatment in people with advanced lung cancer. This phase 2 study is for people who have not been treated for advanced lung cancer that has the KRAS-G12C mutation.
- A type of immunotherapy called TIL therapy may help people with lung cancer that has spread after treatment. We’re leading a phase 2 trial for a TIL therapy to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
- We’re researching treatment for lung cancers that have a mutation called EGFR. Osimertinib is a standard treatment when this cancer has spread. Researchers think adding chemotherapy to osimertinib could make treatment work better.
Here are the lung cancer clinical trials we have open now:
MSK’s goal is to help everyone who is eligible to join the latest clinical trials, no matter where you live. Our Cancer Health Equity Research Program is a special partnership between MSK researchers and community doctors. It brings MSK clinical trials to people at their local hospitals.
Innovations at MSK
Our experts are always uncovering new ways of treating lung cancer and managing side effects. Explore the latest lung cancer news from MSK.
After an MSK clinical trial, Ingrid Adams has had non-small cell lung cancer that has been stable for years.
Common questions about clinical trials
Are you thinking about joining a research study as part of your cancer care? It’s normal to have questions about clinical trials. Here are the answers to some of the most common questions from our patients about clinical trials.
People often do not pay extra out-of-pocket costs for treatments studied in a trial. Most often, the clinical trial’s sponsor pays for all costs related to research and any special testing.
We’ll ask you or your health insurer to pay for anything that’s standard cancer treatment. Examples are routine tests, treatments, or procedures.
Before you join a clinical trial, we’ll give you an informed consent document. It tells you what you must pay for and what the clinical trial pays for.
MSK financial counselors can help you manage any insurance and financial questions about clinical trials.
All clinical trials have guidelines that say who can join. This is called eligibility criteria.
Many things affect whether you’re able to join a clinical trial. Examples are your age, gender, the type and stage of your disease, past treatments, and other health conditions.
MSK follows eligibility rules to keep you safe. These rules make sure researchers can collect the information they need.
You can look for clinical trials any time during your care. You can even join when you first learn you have cancer.
Please consider joining a clinical trial from the very start of your treatment if there’s one right for you.
For some clinical trials, you must already have tried certain treatments before you’re eligible to join.
Talk with your doctor about whether joining a clinical trial is right for you.
You can leave a clinical trial at any time and for any reason.
MSK offers lung cancer clinical trials, including phase 1 trials, at many of our locations.
We have locations in New York City, New Jersey, Westchester County, and on Long Island.
MSK clinical trials are also offered through our MSK Cancer Alliance partner in Hartford, Connecticut.
We offer clinical trials at these MSK locations:
- Long Island: Commack and Nassau
- New Jersey: Basking Ridge, Bergen, and Monmouth
- Westchester: West Harrison
We encourage people from all races, genders, ages, and backgrounds to join clinical trials. It’s how researchers can learn if a new treatment works for everyone, not just one group of people. Read why Theresa Langley wanted to join cancer research that focused on women of color.