Clinical Trial Summaries Now Available in Real
Time
To help meet a growing demand for lay-language information about
new cancer trials, Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Web site now offers a
real-time clinical trial browser.
"The information presented on our Web
site is continually updated with current data from our in-house clinical
trial database and includes summaries of each study's purpose, methods,
and eligibility criteria, written in easy-to-understand language," says Roger
S. Wilson, MD, Chairman of the Center's Institutional Review
Board.
Clinical trials test new approaches to preventing, diagnosing,
or treating disease in people. MSK's clinical trial browser includes a
listing of select studies actively enrolling patients at the Center and
provides clear descriptions about each trial's objective, methods,
and requirements for participation, as well as contact information for the
clinical investigator leading the study. The Web browser is automatically
updated whenever the status of a study changes.
"Because the World
Wide Web is an evolving medium, it is important for us to make sure new
content is added -- and existing content is updated -- on a real-time basis,"
says Dr. Wilson. "At the same time, we wanted the information to be easily
understandable to patients and members of the public," he adds.
Information about new trials is not always available
in straightforward language that can be easily grasped by people who
don't have a medical background. This new, user-friendly browser allows
the general public to identify the trials that are of interest to them in
two clicks -- first by selecting a disease, then a type of trial.
In addition, a link is provided to the National Institutes of Health
clinical trial database, where users can get additional information on
cancer-related research studies being conducted at Memorial Sloan-Kettering
and at other institutions in the United States.
Dr. Jay Adlersberg
recently featured MSK's new clinical trial browser on Channel 7 Eyewitness
News, the nightly newscast of New York's ABC affiliate. To read more
about the report, visit the health page on 7 Online:
