Prevention Detection / Clinical Trials Researchers are continually trying to learn more about what causes breast cancer. Although most prevention and detection trials are designed for women who are at high risk for breast cancer, there are some that are open to healthy women. Frequently researchers find it hard to find healthy women to take part in these studies. So, if you are healthy and want to play a role in advancing our understanding of the breast and breast cancer, you might want to consider becoming a research participant.
If you find a research study that interests you, contact the study coordinator. The coordinator will work with you to determine if you are eligible for the trial.
Finding a Research Study or Clinical Trial There is no one central database for all studies exploring breast cancer prevention and detection. The following websites provide the most comprehensive listings.
CenterWatch Click on Trial Listings, then click on "Healthy Patient Studies."
ClinicalTrials.gov Search "breast cancer prevention" or "breast cancer detection."
Expanding Public Access to Clinical Trials Data In September 2004, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)—a group of editors who hail from what are widely considered the most important medical journals—simultaneously published editorials calling for the development of a comprehensive clinical trials registration database. Further, the editors announced that "all 11 ICMJE member journals will adopt a trials-registration policy to promote this goal."
Under this new policy, for a paper to be considered for publication in these journals the trial it describes must have been registered previously in a public trials registry. Free access to the findings of all clinical trials—not just the ones that have been published—will provide women with a more comprehensive understanding of what the treatments they are taking can do, how they compare to other similar treatments, and what their full range of risks and side effects are.
Dr. Love says: I've been an advocate of the need for a mandatory clinical trials database for some time. I strongly feel that it is important for all publicly funded research results to be available to the public. Research should be a partnership between scientists and the participants and the data should be available to both.
References:
Clinical Trials Registration: A Statement from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Editorial. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2004;292(11):1250–1251.
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Dr. Susan Love
Studying the Normal Breast
Our Foundation is recruiting volunteers who live in Southern California and have not had breast cancer for a ductal lavage study of the normal breast. This research will help us learn more about why breast cancer occurs — and how to end it. For more information, please
email us or call 310-230-1712 x21.
The Sister Study
Has your sister had breast cancer? If so, The Sister Study needs your help. The Sister Study is a national study designed to learn how environment and genes affect a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer. For more information, call 1-877-474-7837, or visit The Sister Study website MORE >
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