I don’t want to violate any HIPAA rules (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act - a very long and confusing way of basically saying: protecting peoples’ medical information privacy), but I noticed (deduced) that a participating patient was involved in a clinical trial going on in the private room next to my open infusion space. One of the main clues/cues was that there were an inordinate amount of medical people going in and out of the room; officials monitoring the very strict parameters of the trial, nurses observing and learning the proper protocol for administration of the trial drug during the lengthy investigative period, and more doctors milling around than at an Oncology convention - and it was on a Saturday!
Each trial "compound" is developed to address what's called an unmet need (no current treatment at all, or a better version of what is already available), and serve a population represented by those chosen for the study. A very select group of patients are screened and identified based on the specific aspects of their particular condition, and how it aligns with what this latest potential therapy can offer to remedy their disease, improve their longevity (Progression Free Survival - PFS) and enhance their quality of life.
As a Comprehensive Cancer Center designated by the National Cancer Institute, my humble facility/clinic (Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey) receives targeted grant funding and support to lead and participate in cutting-edge, high-impact clinical trials (FYI: 70% of their pediatric oncology patients are enrolled in clinical trials!). This one patient, going through the rigors of this one clinical trial, could be the tip of the spear of yet another innovative therapeutic development (weapon) in the fight against cancer. Breakthroughs are happening everyday all around us - even at New Jersey's humble olde Rutgers University (chartered in 1766).
