Cancer patients and their families often think they have to travel to large academic medical centers to get the expert care they need and access to the latest clinical trials.
That is not necessarily so.
Summit Medical Group’s specialists are on the cutting edge of cancer care from diagnosis and treatment to the at-home care patients often require as their disease progresses.
Tune into SMG radio to hear Dr. Biren Saraiya talk about best practices in oncology care, palliative medicine and clinical trials for cancer patients.
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Clinical Trials at Summit Medical Group
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Learn more about Biren Saraiya, MD
Biren Saraiya, MD
Biren Saraiya, MD, specializes in lung cancer, leukemia, and lymphomas. Before joining Summit Medical Group, Dr. Saraiya was Medical Director of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in Hamilton, where he started the Lung Cancer Screening Program. He was previously a consultant oncologist and hematologist at Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills, New Jersey, where he started a multidisciplinary cancer clinic that included thoracic surgery and pulmonology. Dr. Saraiya is an assistant professor for Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.Learn more about Biren Saraiya, MD
Transcription:
Clinical Trials at Summit Medical Group
Melanie Cole (Host): Clinical trials are research studies that involve people and understanding what they are can help you decide if a clinical trial might be an option for you. Or, maybe you have a friend or family member with cancer and are wondering if a clinical trial is right for them. My guest today is Dr. Biren Saraiya. He’s an oncologist at Summit Medical Group who specializes in lung cancer, leukemia and lymphomas. Welcome to the show, doctor. So, tell the listeners, what is a clinical trial and why would somebody want to be involved in one?
Dr. Biren Saraiya (Guest): Clinical trial is a study. We are looking at either a new combination or a new drug for a specific ailment. So, for example, if I think that this new drug is going to work for lung cancer, I just can’t give it to any person or any patient. I need to make sure that I do it in a manner that is safe for them, is going to be effective for them and at no point in time do I want to jeopardize someone’s health. So, clinical trials are developed to make sure that what we do is going to be the best thing for the person.
Melanie: How does someone even find out about clinical trials?
Dr. Saraiya: Asking the doctor is probably the first thing you need to do. Let me step back and say something very important for clinical trials. I think for a patient with cancer, it’s really important to have a clinical trial discussion at the first visit when you have that discussion with the cancer doctor about what treatment options there are. Having that evaluation up front is so important to make sure that we get the best benefit of the newest treatments that are out there. All the research that’s done to find better treatments is through clinical trials. There are different ways you can get engaged. Sometimes, you can do it at the surgeon’s office where we can find better ways of doing treatments even before surgery. Sometimes in the medical oncologist’s office is where we are trying to find the newer drugs that work for some trials. Sometimes in the oncologist’s office is where we are trying to find what the best dose is to give to have minimum side effects with the maximum efficacy. Asking that question, it doesn’t matter which specialist you are seeing. Asking the question, “What’s the best treatment and whether a clinical trial is available now?” is an important discussion for any cancer patient’s journey.
Melanie: How do you decide whether or not to take part in a clinical trial because I would think, doctor, one of the questions ask is, “What if I enroll in this clinical trial and I’m the placebo group? Am I not getting the standard of care that I would get if I was not enrolled?”
Dr. Saraiya: That’s one of the fears, “I don’t want to be a guinea pig.” Those are the sentiments I hear a lot. So, let me talk about how we develop clinical trials. Before we have anyone enrolling for the study, there are studies done to make sure that the compound or the combination of treatments are actually something that are worth considering in this particular patient population. Then, we do phase one clinical study where we find the right dose. We want to make sure that the right dose of the drug is administered. This is typically done at a specialized center and usually patients who have had treatments before and have either stopped having the benefit or did not benefit are eligible for these particular phase one studies. Then, you go to phase two’s and phase three’s. These are the types of studies we do at Summit Medical Group. We are now looking specifically at specific diseases. For example, lung cancer, leukemia, myeloma or breast cancer and within that specific disease looking at one of two different options. Either doing what we currently do, which is the standard of care or doing something in addition to standard care; so, adding a new drug to the standard regimen or something that we have shown that it works just as effective and that is not standard. This is something we discuss with patients of what we know, what we anticipate, what are the potential benefits and what are the potential risks. We discuss this and give them informed consent to make sure they make the decision with the most information. Having the discussion, I think, is important. Once you have the discussion, and the questions have been answered then patients need to know that they can always decline. They can say, “I do not want to go ahead with the clinical trial.” But, just to understand, this is how we find new treatments. This is how we find the new drugs, the better cures. So, clinical trials are so important in development for better treatments of cancer.
Melanie: How can patients ensure safety during a clinical trial and the ethics of what they are going through?
Dr. Saraiya: This is where the informed consent process comes in and plays a very important role. We have learned as medical professionals how to make sure we take the safety of patients, and even multiple patients, and make sure that we do the best we can and provide the most information we can so that they can make an informed decision. The consent process involves giving patient information both verbally but also written information so they can understand what the risks are, what the benefits are. These consents processes are vetted to multiple different specialties and emphasis in what is called Institutional Review Boards to make sure this is something that is adequate to communicate the risks and benefits. Once that has been vetted and approved, that’s when we can actually enroll patients in a clinical trial.
Melanie: What about paying for clinical trials, doctor? Cancer treatments can be very expensive and sometimes insurance companies won’t pay for things. So, what is a patient to do?
Dr. Saraiya: This is a problem, fortunately, that we don’t have much in New Jersey. By law, New Jersey insurers are required to pay for the clinical trial expenses for patients. We also, when we design clinical studies if you are doing something outside of the clinical routine practice, we will make sure that the sponsor of the study, whether is Federal government through the National Institute of Health or National Cancer Institute or the sponsor would be a pharmaceutical drug company, pays for those things so that it is not a burden to the patient who is already having other issues and other distresses.
Melanie: In just the last few minutes, give your best advice for people considering a clinical trial for themselves or a loved one and why they should come to Summit Medical Group and look at it.
Dr. Saraiya: Regardless whether what stage the cancer is, one of the most important questions to ask is, “What is the best treatment?” In my mind, clinical trials should be one of those considerations. Once you have looked at it, either with talking to the doctor or going to clinicaltrials.gov, which is a national repository of all of the clinical trials that are ongoing, then you can make an informed decision about what the next treatment should be. I know many times people feel that clinical trials should only be considered when all the treatments have not worked but I really urge all my patients to consider clinical trials at the first diagnosis as early as possible and along the way, if necessary. Having that evaluation is really important. To understand and to know what clinical trials are ongoing at Summit Medical Group, you can go to clinical research at Summit Medical Group website or call our office at 908-277-8690.
Melanie: Thank you so much, doctor. That was so beautifully explained. You’re listening to SMG Radio. For more information you can go to summitmedicalgroup.com. That’s summitmedicalgroup.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Clinical Trials at Summit Medical Group
Melanie Cole (Host): Clinical trials are research studies that involve people and understanding what they are can help you decide if a clinical trial might be an option for you. Or, maybe you have a friend or family member with cancer and are wondering if a clinical trial is right for them. My guest today is Dr. Biren Saraiya. He’s an oncologist at Summit Medical Group who specializes in lung cancer, leukemia and lymphomas. Welcome to the show, doctor. So, tell the listeners, what is a clinical trial and why would somebody want to be involved in one?
Dr. Biren Saraiya (Guest): Clinical trial is a study. We are looking at either a new combination or a new drug for a specific ailment. So, for example, if I think that this new drug is going to work for lung cancer, I just can’t give it to any person or any patient. I need to make sure that I do it in a manner that is safe for them, is going to be effective for them and at no point in time do I want to jeopardize someone’s health. So, clinical trials are developed to make sure that what we do is going to be the best thing for the person.
Melanie: How does someone even find out about clinical trials?
Dr. Saraiya: Asking the doctor is probably the first thing you need to do. Let me step back and say something very important for clinical trials. I think for a patient with cancer, it’s really important to have a clinical trial discussion at the first visit when you have that discussion with the cancer doctor about what treatment options there are. Having that evaluation up front is so important to make sure that we get the best benefit of the newest treatments that are out there. All the research that’s done to find better treatments is through clinical trials. There are different ways you can get engaged. Sometimes, you can do it at the surgeon’s office where we can find better ways of doing treatments even before surgery. Sometimes in the medical oncologist’s office is where we are trying to find the newer drugs that work for some trials. Sometimes in the oncologist’s office is where we are trying to find what the best dose is to give to have minimum side effects with the maximum efficacy. Asking that question, it doesn’t matter which specialist you are seeing. Asking the question, “What’s the best treatment and whether a clinical trial is available now?” is an important discussion for any cancer patient’s journey.
Melanie: How do you decide whether or not to take part in a clinical trial because I would think, doctor, one of the questions ask is, “What if I enroll in this clinical trial and I’m the placebo group? Am I not getting the standard of care that I would get if I was not enrolled?”
Dr. Saraiya: That’s one of the fears, “I don’t want to be a guinea pig.” Those are the sentiments I hear a lot. So, let me talk about how we develop clinical trials. Before we have anyone enrolling for the study, there are studies done to make sure that the compound or the combination of treatments are actually something that are worth considering in this particular patient population. Then, we do phase one clinical study where we find the right dose. We want to make sure that the right dose of the drug is administered. This is typically done at a specialized center and usually patients who have had treatments before and have either stopped having the benefit or did not benefit are eligible for these particular phase one studies. Then, you go to phase two’s and phase three’s. These are the types of studies we do at Summit Medical Group. We are now looking specifically at specific diseases. For example, lung cancer, leukemia, myeloma or breast cancer and within that specific disease looking at one of two different options. Either doing what we currently do, which is the standard of care or doing something in addition to standard care; so, adding a new drug to the standard regimen or something that we have shown that it works just as effective and that is not standard. This is something we discuss with patients of what we know, what we anticipate, what are the potential benefits and what are the potential risks. We discuss this and give them informed consent to make sure they make the decision with the most information. Having the discussion, I think, is important. Once you have the discussion, and the questions have been answered then patients need to know that they can always decline. They can say, “I do not want to go ahead with the clinical trial.” But, just to understand, this is how we find new treatments. This is how we find the new drugs, the better cures. So, clinical trials are so important in development for better treatments of cancer.
Melanie: How can patients ensure safety during a clinical trial and the ethics of what they are going through?
Dr. Saraiya: This is where the informed consent process comes in and plays a very important role. We have learned as medical professionals how to make sure we take the safety of patients, and even multiple patients, and make sure that we do the best we can and provide the most information we can so that they can make an informed decision. The consent process involves giving patient information both verbally but also written information so they can understand what the risks are, what the benefits are. These consents processes are vetted to multiple different specialties and emphasis in what is called Institutional Review Boards to make sure this is something that is adequate to communicate the risks and benefits. Once that has been vetted and approved, that’s when we can actually enroll patients in a clinical trial.
Melanie: What about paying for clinical trials, doctor? Cancer treatments can be very expensive and sometimes insurance companies won’t pay for things. So, what is a patient to do?
Dr. Saraiya: This is a problem, fortunately, that we don’t have much in New Jersey. By law, New Jersey insurers are required to pay for the clinical trial expenses for patients. We also, when we design clinical studies if you are doing something outside of the clinical routine practice, we will make sure that the sponsor of the study, whether is Federal government through the National Institute of Health or National Cancer Institute or the sponsor would be a pharmaceutical drug company, pays for those things so that it is not a burden to the patient who is already having other issues and other distresses.
Melanie: In just the last few minutes, give your best advice for people considering a clinical trial for themselves or a loved one and why they should come to Summit Medical Group and look at it.
Dr. Saraiya: Regardless whether what stage the cancer is, one of the most important questions to ask is, “What is the best treatment?” In my mind, clinical trials should be one of those considerations. Once you have looked at it, either with talking to the doctor or going to clinicaltrials.gov, which is a national repository of all of the clinical trials that are ongoing, then you can make an informed decision about what the next treatment should be. I know many times people feel that clinical trials should only be considered when all the treatments have not worked but I really urge all my patients to consider clinical trials at the first diagnosis as early as possible and along the way, if necessary. Having that evaluation is really important. To understand and to know what clinical trials are ongoing at Summit Medical Group, you can go to clinical research at Summit Medical Group website or call our office at 908-277-8690.
Melanie: Thank you so much, doctor. That was so beautifully explained. You’re listening to SMG Radio. For more information you can go to summitmedicalgroup.com. That’s summitmedicalgroup.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.