Booklet: What You Need to Know about Ovarian Cancer

Clinical Trials

Many patients with ovarian cancer are treated in clinical trials (treatment studies). Doctors conduct clinical trials to find out whether a new treatment is both safe and effective and to answer scientific questions. Patients who take part in these studies may be among the first to receive treatments that have shown promise in laboratory research.

Some patients may receive the new treatment while others receive a standard approach. In this way, doctors can compare different therapies. Patients who take part in a trial make an important contribution to medical science and may have the first chance to benefit from improved treatment methods.

Various trials for ovarian cancer patients are under way. Doctors are studying new drugs, new drug combinations, and different treatment schedules. They also are exploring drugs designed to make radiation therapy more effective, and other ways of combining different types of treatment. Biological therapy, the use of substances that boost the immune system's response to cancer or protect the body from some of the side effects of treatment, is under study in patients with recurrent or advanced ovarian cancer.

A woman with ovarian cancer who is interested in participating in a trial should talk with her doctor. The National Cancer Institute booklet Taking Part in Clinical Trials: What Cancer Patients Need To Know explains the possible benefits and risks of treatment studies.

One way to learn about clinical trials is through PDQ, a computerized cancer information resource developed by the National Cancer Institute. PDQ contains information about cancer treatment and about clinical trials in progress all over the country. The Cancer Information Service can provide information from PDQ to doctors, patients, and the public.

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