Phase 3 Clinical Trials
The largest number of Mesothelioma patients register for the Phase III Clinical Trials compared to the other earlier phases. The number shoots up to more than 100. These trials are conducted throughout the country in multiple medical facilities. The purpose of this trial is to determine whether the current standard of treatment of Mesothelioma is less effective than the therapy observed in the Phase III Trial.
The Phase III trials help in guiding the patients and the medical professionals in deciding about the courses of treatment by its impact on survival time and quality of life. Persons with a specific type of cancer form the groups for these trials. Patients are randomly selected to form members of two groups- the investigational group receiving the new treatment and the other group called the control group experiencing the usual standard of treatment. The Phase III Trials might include more than two study groups when situation demands and on the objective for which the trail is conducted.
It has also been observed that many patients detected with Mesothelioma or with other forms of cancer are treated for the first time in the Phase III Clinical Trials. This is independent of whether a patient has been enrolled in an Investigation or a Control group and at the very least, he is sure to receive the widely accepted standard form of treatment. When these patients are given the new treatment then they would be the first beneficiary of the new therapy.
But, it is not that a new treatment would always be better than the standard one and it might also happen that the new treatment does not show any effectiveness with patients who have also not benefited from a standard one. For example, in a Mesothelioma Phase III Trial Onconase Plus Doxorubicin was tested against Doxorubicin Alone on malignant Mesothelioma patients who had undergone only one prior Chemotherapy session. It is still active now as a trial only without accruing any Mesothelioma patient further!