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Clinical Trials

What is a clinical trial?

Clinical trials are research investigations in which people volunteer to test new treatments, interventions or tests as a means to prevent, detect, treat or manage various diseases or medical conditions.

A trial is a documented, and ethically approved process to compare one treatment with another to determine the best treatment.

Most clinical trials involve treatment, such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiation. Understanding the safety issues associated with the new treatment is key.

There are some studies which do not involve drugs or new treatments. These non-treatment trials may look at population-based or demographic information, looking for patterns or clues to causation of disease. Some look at quality of life issues or the role of supportive care in oncology services.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What should I know before participating in a clinical trial?

    If you are offered participation in a clinical trial, you need to know that it is always your choice to be involved. You also need to know the alternatives to participation.

    Your decision should be based on complete details about the trial including its aim, how it is being conducted, your responsibilities as a participant, and any potential risks or benefits to you.

    This information will be made available to you along with a consent form. You should have adequate time to read and understand the information, and the opportunity to ask any questions about the trial with the investigator.

    You can withdraw at any time without penalty. All clinical trials are reviewed, approved and overseen by an ethics committee.

  • Why be part of a clinical trial?

    New interventions that help people to live longer, have less pain or be free of disability are only possible because of the willingness of people to participate in clinical trials. Both healthy participants and those diagnosed with a disease or condition are needed to help find new ways to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure disease and disability. If more people are involved in clinical trials, it may reduce the time it takes to make new interventions widely available.

    By taking part in a clinical trial, you can contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge and, in some cases, to improved health for yourself or others with the same disease or condition.

    Australian Clinical Trials

  • What is informed consent?

    Everyone taking part in a clinical trial must give ‘informed consent’, or have a parent or guardian or other legally authorised person give consent.

    Informed consent means that potential participants are given information about the key facts of a clinical trial before deciding whether or not to take part. Informed consent also means that participants are provided with information on new developments throughout the trial.

    You cannot be entered into a trial if you don’t want to be. If you are asked to take part, you are free to say yes or no at any time. There should be no pressure on you to enter a trial. If you are under 18, a parent or guardian has to give legal consent and you have to give your permission as well.

    To help you decide whether or not to be part of a trial, members of the research team will explain the details of the trial to you. The researchers will also provide a document, usually called a participant information and consent form, which includes details about the study such as its purpose, duration, required procedures, risks and potential benefits. You can ask about anything that is not clear to you or that you do not understand. You can take your time and talk it over with family and friends or your own doctor before deciding whether to take part.

    You will then decide whether or not to sign the consent document. Signing the consent document means that you are agreeing to take part in the trial and have understood what that will involve.

    The consent document is not a contract, and you may withdraw from the trial at any time. If you do withdraw from a clinical trial, the relationship between you and your doctor will not be affected.

    Australian Clinical Trials

Trials the South West Healthcare Clinical Trials unit are currently involved in:

Oncology and Haematology

  • Alt-TRACC - Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

    Title: Alternating oxaliplatin and irinotecan doublet schedules versus continuous doublet chemotherapy in previously untreated metastatic colorectal cancer: A Treatment of Recurrent and Advanced Colorectal Cancer registry-based prospective randomised trial (ALT-TRACC)

    Trial Summary: To determine the efficacy of alternating oxaliplatin and irinotecan doublet chemotherapy +/- clinician’s choice biologic agent vs continuous doublet chemotherapy +/- clinician’s choice biologic agent in treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer treatment by reporting progression free survival on first line chemotherapy (PFS)

  • FAPI-CUP – Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP)

    Title: FAPI-CUP – Evaluating FAPI as a novel radiopharmaceutical targeting cancer-associated fibroblasts for the diagnosis of patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary

    Trial summary: This is a prospective single arm cohort study designed to evaluate the diagnostic ability of 68Ga-FAPI-PET/CT scan in determining likely tissue of origin in Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP) patients not identified by standard of care. Patients with CUP will be either treatment naïve or starting second-line treatment.

    Detailed Description: Cancers of unknown primary (CUP) account for 3-5% of all malignancies. The prognosis of patients diagnosed with CUP is poor, with a median overall survival of 9-12 months. Despite improvements in conventional diagnostic processes, the tissue of origin (ToO) is identified in <30% of CUP patients. PET/CT is increasingly used to determine the ToO, with the most commonly used PET radiotracer being the glucose analogue fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). Although PET/CT can change CUP patient management and identify primary sites, FDG has limited sensitivity for detecting some

    cancers, such as CUP. It has been reported that fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is highly expressed in some tumours, including CUP. 68Ga-FAPI (experimental drug) is a radiotracer that can specifically bind to FAP, and may enable the primary cancer site to be viewed using PET imaging. It is hypothesised that the use of 68Ga-FAPI-PET/CT will increase likely ToO diagnosis from 30% with current standard of care to 60%.

  • Capture - Advanced Breast Cancer: ER+ve, HER2-v

    Title: A phase II randomised study to evaluate alpelisib plus fulvestrant versus capecitabine in estrogen receptor positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer patients with PIK3CA mutant circulating DNA.

    Trial Summary: The purpose of this study is to determine whether treatment with alpelisib plus fulvestrant prolongs progression-free survival (PFS) compared to capecitabine in patients with oestrogen receptor positive (ER+), HER2-negative advanced breast cancer (ABC) who have PIK3CA mutant circulating DNA and have received prior treatment with a CDK4/6 inhibitor (CDK4/6i) and aromatase inhibitor (AI).

  • Libretto-432 – Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

    Title: LIBRETTO-432: A Placebo-controlled Double-Blinded Randomized Phase 3 Study of Adjuvant Selpercatinib following Definitive Locoregional Treatment in Participants with Stage IB-IIIA RET fusion-Positive NSCLC

    Trial Summary: The reason for this study is to see if the study drug, selpercatinib, compared to placebo is effective and safe in delaying cancer return in participants with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), who have already had surgery or radiation. Participants who are assigned to placebo and stop the study drug because their disease comes back or gets worse have the option to potentially crossover to selpercatinib. Participation could last up to three years.

  • MoST-CIRCUIT - Rare cancers

    Title: Combination Immunotherapy in Rare Cancers Under InvesTigation: Ipilimumab and nivolumab combination therapy in patients with selected immunotherapy sensitive advanced rare cancers

    Trial summary: The four tumour streams that will be studied in this protocol are based on immunotherapy sensitive rare cancers from CA209-538 which will be further investigated under this protocol and divided into four groups:

    1. Neuroendocrine cancers: Atypical bronchial carcinoid, neuroendocrine carcinoma and Grade 3 NETs independent of primary site (SCLC excluded)
    2. Biliary tract cancers: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder carcinoma
    3. Gynaecological malignancies: Ovarian clear cell carcinoma, uterine clear cell carcinoma, uterine/ovarian carcinosarcoma, uterine leiomyosarcoma and vaginal/vulva squamous cell carcinoma
    4. Mismatch repair protein deficient (MSI-H) cancers (excluding colorectal carcinoma).

    The role of immunotherapy is being defined in more common cancer types, however because of their rarity, the efficacy of immunotherapy for these cancers is poorly defined.

    This protocol provides an important opportunity to establish whether the combination of nivolumab & ipilimumab has efficacy in these cancers.

  • VADER – Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

    Title: A phase II randomised controlled trial to determine the efficacy of combining the HDAC inhibitor sodium valproate with EGFR monoclonal antibody (panitumumab or cetuximab) maintenance in the first-line treatment of patients with RAS wild type metastatic CRC (VADER study)

    Trial summary: The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of combining the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor sodium valproate (VPA) with anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody (panitumumab or cetuximab) maintenance in the first-line treatment of patients with RAS wild type metastatic CRC.

  • ZAP - Metastic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

    Title: A Phase 2, Open-Label, Randomized Study to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Zolbetuximab (IMAB362) in Combination with Nab-Paclitaxel and Gemcitabine (Nab-P + GEM) as First Line Treatment in Subjects with Claudin 18.2 (CLDN18.2) Positive, Metastatic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

    Trial Summary: The purpose of this study is to confirm the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of zolbetuximab in combination with Nab-P + GEM, determine overall survival and assess the safety and tolerability of the combination treatment.

    This study will also evaluate tumor markers and pharmacokinetics (PK) of zolbetuximab, Nab-P and GEM, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Other Clinical Trials at South West Healthcare

The below are a list of trials being run outside of the clinical trials unit.

Physiotherapy

  • During the early postpartum period, is rectus abdominis training more effective than transversus abdominis training in reducing the inter-recti distance in people with diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscles? A randomised controlled trial. ACTRN12621000446864p

    Trial Summary:

    This study aims to detect if there is a difference between activating your deep core muscles or your outer abdominal muscles in reducing the seperation of the abdominal muscles in women with diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscles following vaginal childbirth.

  • The effect of early post-partum rectus abdominis training vs. transversus abdominis training on the inter-recti distance in patients with diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscles: a pilot study. ACTRN12621000539831

    Trial Recently Completed

    Trial Summary:

    Diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscle (DRAM or DRA) is a common condition postpartum where the abdominal muscles seperate along the linea alba. Current physiotherapy management is overwhelmingly reported to include transversus abdominis (TrA) training, however, ultrasound imaging evidence is growing to support rectus abdominis (RA) training in the early postpartum period instead. While ultrasound imaging has previously shown contraction of the TrA muscle increases the inter-recti distance and RA reduces it, no current evidence exists comparing the two when prescribed as a treatment.

Population health and wellbeing

  • Aspirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE). NCT01038583

    ASPREE (ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly) is a joint US/Australian research project aiming to determine whether low-dose aspirin increases healthy life-span, defined as survival free of dementia and disability. ASPREE began in 2010 and completed recruitment in 2014. It is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, primary prevention trial of daily 100 mg of aspirin in a population of healthy older people in the United States (US) and Australia with a period of treatment averaging 4.5 years. ASPREE’s primary outcome is length of survival free of dementia and disability and has secondary outcomes encompassing the major health issues related to aging. The trial involving 19,114 persons aged 70 and above (65 years and above for US minorities) is distinctive for its large size, methodological rigor and high participant retention rate in both countries.

    ASPREE-XT is a post-treatment, longitudinal observational follow-up study of ASPREE participants. An observational follow-up phase (ASPREE-XT), began in January, 2018. This will enable the monitoring of possible delayed effects of aspirin treatment, primarily on cancer incidence, metastases and mortality.

  • Generation Victoria Cohort 2020s: A Statewide Longitudinal Cohort Study of Victorian Children and Their Parents. NCT05394363

    Trial summary:

    Generation Victoria (GenV) is a longitudinal, population-based study of Victorian children and their parents that will bring together data on a wide range of conditions, exposures and outcomes. GenV blends study-collected, study-enhanced and linked data. It will be multi-purpose, supporting observational, interventional, health services and policy research within the same cohort. It is designed to address physical, mental and social issues experienced during childhood, as well as the antecedents of a wide range of diseases of ageing. It seeks to generate translatable evidence (prediction, prevention, treatments, services) to improve future wellbeing and reduce the future disease burden of children and adults.

  • Injury profiles of female Australian Rules Football players: a survey of Geelong and South-Western Victoria. ACTRN12619000046101

    Trial Summary:

    The aim of the study is to investigate the frequency, type and consequences of injuries for females who present to an emergency department of urgent care centre in Geelong or South West Victoria.

    Study one will collect information regarding the types of injuries sustained by females and compare this information to males. Information will be extracted from participants’ medical records.

    Study two will collect information regarding the consequences of injuries sustained by females. Information will include healthcare treatments, time off work or school and time away from playing football. Information will be collected via questionnaires sent to participants 6-10 weeks following injury.

Stroke

  • Using Short Message Services (SMS) to Collect Patient Reported Outcomes for the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry (AuSCR): a comparative effectiveness project. ACTRN12621001431819

    Trial Summary:

    We are testing a different method of receiving the patient outcomes survey for our national stroke registry. The Australian Stroke Clinical Registry traditionally collects outcomes data between 90-180days after stroke using a paper-based survey that is mailed to the registrant. If registrant does not respond after two attempts by mail, we telephone them to complete the survey. Use of short-message-service (SMS) with an electronic link to the survey form that is sent to the registrant’s mobile phone number may be a more feasible and cost-effective approach to receiving the outcome survey data from registrants.

    We hypothesise that, compared to our traditional methods, those receiving an SMS will have greater response rates and more timely completion of the outcomes survey with less missing data, and that this new method will reduce costs for collecting these data.
    A process evaluation to determine why some patients might choose to complete the follow-up questionnaire via the SMS method, while others do not, will also be undertaken.

    The outcome of this project is to provide evidence on whether the option of electronic collection of outcome data via SMS should be incorporated as part of our usual registry processes.

Page last updated: 23 January 2024

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