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Every year, about 12,000 TRICARE beneficiaries are diagnosed with cancer and most of these patients receive proven, standard treatments to fight their diseases.
However, about 1 percent of TRICARE beneficiaries with cancer—approximately 120 to 150 per year—choose clinical trials to treat their diseases. “Some individuals are presenting in later stages or have aggressive forms of cancer, and if eligible, they could potentially benefit from treatments offered in clinical trials,” noted Army Col. John Kugler, M.D., deputy medical director, Office of the Chief Medical Officer, TRICARE Management Activity.
The seven-year partnership between the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Department of Defense (DoD) gives TRICARE beneficiaries more options for cancer care as well as access to the latest advances in cancer treatment. Through the DoD/NCI Cancer Clinical Trials Demonstration Project, TRICARE beneficiaries can participate in Phase II and Phase III NCI-sponsored trials.
Phase II trials focus on and study a particular type of cancer and provide information on a particular treatment. Phase III trials compare a new agent or treatment, or the new use of a standard treatment, with a current standard therapy.
“Trials exist to see if something is truly effective and safe,” Kugler said. “It’s the only scientific way to effectively prove a treatment works.”
By providing your patients the opportunity to enroll in an NCI-sponsored cancer clinical trial, you’re giving them access to the latest and most promising advances in cancer research.
Patients have several important rights throughout a cancer clinical trial, including the right to know the facts about the study they are participating in, the right to leave the study at any time and the right not to be harmed by the study’s activities.
“In addition, no patient will receive placebos or go without treatment when a standard cancer therapy is available,” Kugler said.
More than 2,000 health care facilities around the country, including military hospitals, participate in NCI-sponsored clinical trials. Costs for screening tests to determine clinical trial eligibility, as well as associated costs of participation in the clinical trials, are covered by the DoD and NCI interagency agreement.
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