Phases of a Clinical Trial

Laboratory Studies

Cell or animal studies test to see if the new treatment will be safe and will work on people.

Phase I

Studies the safety of medication and treatment on people to find the right dose

Phase II

Studies the safety and effectiveness on people.

Phase III

Studies whether the new treatment is better than the current standard treatment.

Seeing patients is equally important to Dr. Karim. “My day may begin with clinics and patient rounds, ” says Dr. Karim. “Another day, I may be holding one of my Phase I meetings, where we look at protocols and which clinical trials we could bring here. ”

As the program grows, Dr. Karim has exciting plans for 2023, including holding Inova’s first Phase 1 Symposium, where she’s reached out to Phase 1 leaders across the nation to share information in early clinical trials that are critical to cancer research. “We have to keep moving forward. We should continue to fight for the ones we love. ”

Timothy Cannon, MD

Sheridan Director, Molecular Tumor Board

Co-Director, Gastrointestinal Cancer Program

Inova Schar Cancer Institute

As the Sheridan Director, Molecular Tumor Board, Dr. Cannon understands the critical role philanthropy plays in research.

“The Sheridan Director position and the Molecular Tumor Board are fueled by philanthropy, ” Dr. Cannon explains. “Philanthropy has direct and indirect impact on research. It has funded many great projects that are making a difference in people’s lives. But there are so many indirect impacts. For example, when there is money from philanthropy available to do internally funded research projects, oncologists are more likely to want to join our team. ”

“The Molecular Tumor Board is a new innovation of the last few years, ” says Dr. Cannon. “For most cancers, there were not a lot of options outside of chemotherapy. Then as we started to apply advanced knowledge in molecular medicine and genetics, we could look at the genetic profiles of tumors and test for over 400 different genes. We developed a program that would help physicians and patients understand their options, prompt potential changes in their treatment plan or determine if the patient is eligible for clinical trials. ”

Studies his team are working on right now include:

Testing proteomics through a Cancer Moonshot grant, which is a direct way of measuring the proteins a DNA encodes. This aims to develop better a understanding on how to treat patients more effectively

Finding the extent that a protein named “HER2” plays a role in causing pancreatic cancer

“Philanthropy helps in ways donors might not perceive, “ says Dr. Cannon. “It supports projects that real people benefit from every single day. ”

Timothy Cannon, MD Sheridan Director, Molecular Tumor Board Co-Director, Gastrointestinal Cancer Program Inova Schar Cancer Institute

“

I was an art history major when my mother encouraged me to take some science classes. That’s how I started my journey into medicine. My mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when I was an intern and died when I was a junior resident. That experience, as well as my experience as a medicine resident taking care of cancer patients and working in cancer research, influenced me to apply for fellowship in hematology and oncology. ”

Raymond Wadlow, MD Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology Program Director, Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Inova Schar Cancer Institute

Raymond Wadlow, MD

Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology Program Director, Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Inova Schar Cancer Institute

Dr. Wadlow’s dedication to balancing his research with actively seeing patients is what first drew him to Inova.

Since joining the team in 2020, he has been one of Inova Schar’s highest enrollers in clinical trials. For example, Dr. Wadlow started and participated in a clinic at the Saville Center for patients at high risk of pancreatic cancer, serving as the principal investigator for Inova in the international research collaborative, The Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection Consortium.

“Because of my family history with pancreatic cancer, I too was enrolled as a patient under their protocol, ” says Dr. Wadlow. “We are going to learn how to prevent pancreatic cancer, and we aim to increase the long-term survival rate from 10% to 50%. I said I wanted to bring this to my community and I did that when the Saville Center opened in 2022. Since then, we’ve enrolled 95 people to the Early Detection Consortium protocol. ”

Caring for patients is central to him. “It’s a balance. I am in clinic 50% of the time seeing patients and meeting with multidisciplinary teams to do rounds, ” says Dr. Wadlow. “A typical clinic day is 15-20 patients, some who are being screened, some newly diagnosed, or others might be in the middle of their chemotherapy and we’re looking for clinical trials. Thursdays and Fridays are reserved for research. It’s a good balance. ”

We are grateful to all our donors, including transformational support from Win Sheridan who make Dr. Wadlow’s research possible.

“As I reflect back on those first days and weeks after being diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma cancer, I recall how absolutely life altering the experience was for me and my family. Once the initial shock, fear, and general emotion subsided, I began to look at my options for recovery.

My participation in the clinical trial is something that I am proud of and something that I feel good about in the overall struggle to find a cure for both me and others. The excellent medical care that I received during the trial definitely saved my life and allowed me to maintain a fairly normal lifestyle in the process. ”