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Cancer Trials Available  to TRICARE Beneficiaries (Article 4)
  Nearly 12,000 Military Health System (MHS) beneficiaries are diagnosed with cancer each year.  The Department of Defense (DoD), in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) through an interagency agreement, conducts the DoD Cancer Prevention and Treatment Clinical Trials Demonstration.

Family members of active duty personnel, as well as TRICARE-eligible retired service members and their families, may participate in NCI-sponsored clinical trials within military treatment facilities (MTFs) or at civilian cancer centers.
  Three Phases of Trials
There are three phases of NCI clinical trials:
 
  • Phase I trials: These are not covered currently by TRICARE due to their highly experimental nature.
  • Phase II trials: TRICARE beneficiaries may participate in phase II trials, which study the safety and effectiveness of an agent or intervention, and evaluate how it affects the human body. These studies usually focus on a particular type of cancer.
  • Phase III trials: TRICARE beneficiaries may also participate in phase III trials, which compare a promising new treatment against the standard approach.
  Those appropriate for phase II trials include beneficiaries who have been diagnosed with cancer, as well as those who are at high risk for developing cancer and who want to decrease that risk.  Those appropriate for phase III trials include beneficiaries who have been diagnosed with cancer and want to participate in the most promising advances in cancer research.

Cost of Participation
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.

If the beneficiary enrolls in a clinical trial at an MTF, all outpatient care is provided free of charge. Services received in the civilian sector are subject to copayments/cost-shares and deductibles.

How to Participate
Contact the DoD Cancer Prevention and Treatment Clinical Trials Demonstration case manager before beginning the evaluation or any treatment under the clinical trial. The toll-free number is 1-800-779-3060.

Prior authorization is also required to participate in an NCI clinical trial. Humana Military case managers facilitate referrals to the DoD/NCI demonstration when beneficiaries are identified as possible clinical trial participants. The PCM may refer beneficiaries by contacting the demonstration case manager.

The NCI Web site (www.cancer.gov) lists some of the phase II and III NCI-sponsored clinical trials, but not all of them. To determine if there are clinical trials available, contact the demonstration case manager.
 
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