What is a Clinical Trial

A clinical trial is a type of research study that aims to explore whether a medical treatment is safe and effective for humans.

DO YOU NEED A CLINICAL TRIAL?

If you have GIST progression despite the use of standard therapies such as Gleevec, Sutent, and/or Stivarga, you or your doctor may want to investigate a clinical trial as an option for your treatment plan. While clinical trials are technically considered research, many GIST patients have benefited from participation. Each clinical trial is designed for a specific purpose or condition. Several clinical trials are focused on front-line therapy. Front-line therapy is a type of therapy that is taken before the patient undergoes Gleevec, in the hope that it might optimize the results of Gleevec alone. Search for first-line trials

Additionally, there are several treatments which aim to study preventative treatment trials (adjuvant) with the objective of preventing recurrence. Search for preventative treatment trials

In other cancers, drug combinations are generally used as a form of treatment and are often more effective than single drugs. Researchers have speculated that combination drugs will decrease the possibility that resistant cancer cells will develop. It is speculated that the same will hold true for targeted therapies in general and for GIST specifically. Search for combination therapies

Many trials are also available for patients that have presented resistance to Gleevec and resistance to Gleevec and Sutent. Search for Gleevec, Sutent, Stivarga resistant GIST

Trials are also available for specific subtypes of GIST including those with PDGFRA D842V mutations and SDH-deficient GIST.

  • The option of gaining access to new treatments after standard therapy fails.
  • The opportunity to be the first to benefit from a new method under study.
  • Receiving treatment at a major GIST trial center
  • Close monitoring, advice, care, and support by a research team who has a better understanding of your disease or condition
  • The chance of helping future GIST patients by contributing to medical research

  • The new drug may not work for you.
  • There may be unpleasant side effects as a response to the experimental treatment.
  • Additional testing, time, and travel may be required.
  • Some costs may not be covered by insurance companies.