Phase I Clinical Trials

Listen to A. Craig Lockhart, MD, MHS, discuss the importance of clinical trials in a Cancer Connection podcast.
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Phase I clinical trials are studies in which patients are treated with new and promising cancer drugs or new combinations of cancer drugs. The goals of these studies are:

  • To determine safe doses of these drugs
  • To define the side effects of these drugs
  • To describe how these drugs are broken down in the body
  • To see if these drugs work on human cancers

In general, phase I studies are for patients whose cancers are no longer responding to standard therapies or those whose cancers do not have a standard treatment.

If you are interested in participating in a phase I clinical trial, ask your doctor or nurse if these studies are right for you. For more information, contact Siteman's developmental therapeutics program.