Clinical trials can offer hope by testing new ways to prevent, find and treat cancer. They test the safety and effectiveness of new treatment approaches under close medical supervision. While clinical trials provide an opportunity for people to help advance research that could potentially lead to better care, many different outcomes are possible.
This is why at the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), we believe everyone should have access to clear, accurate and up-to-date information about clinical trials in Canada.
CCS and the Quebec – Clinical Research Organization in Cancer (Q-CROC) have collaborated to develop and launch Cancer Trials Canada, a website that includes resources that can help patients learn more about participating in clinical trials, the types and phases of trials, and the possible risks and benefits that trials offer.
As a reliable source of information on trials, Cancer Trials Canada helps people living with cancer, their caregivers and their care providers navigate trial options and make informed decisions.
Gayle Archibald and Patrick Gilmore are 2 people with cancer who participated in clinical trials. They have seen the impact clinical research can have on the development of treatment approaches and encourage people to participate.
Gayle's story
Gayle Archibald was a participant in an international clinical trial that has changed the way doctors treat pancreatic cancer around the world.
Gayle’s diagnosis in 2012 was unexpected. Initial acid-reflux and flu-like symptoms progressed into unusually coloured urine and stools (poop). After an ultrasound and a CT scan, her doctor confirmed she had pancreatic cancer.
“I thought it was nothing at first,” she recalls. “Four days later, I had an operation where they take out parts of your pancreas, intestine, gallbladder and stomach.”
By January 2013, Gayle was ready to begin chemotherapy. She was invited to take part in a clinical trial led by the Unicancer Group in France and the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG), a CCS national program. They tested a new 3-drug chemotherapy combination to improve outcomes for people whose pancreatic cancer was removed by surgery.
“The trial showed that the new drug combination improved the patients’ survival rate significantly,” says Dr Daniel Renouf, a medical oncologist at BC Cancer and co-chair of CCTG’s pancreatic cancer disease working group. “Those who received this new treatment after surgery are considerably more likely to remain cancer-free after 5 years.”
After 6 months in the clinical trial, Gayle’s scans came back clear, and she has been cancer-free for more than 10 years. Since the results of the trial were initially published, the treatment Gayle received has been approved and fully funded as the new standard of care.
Today, Gayle hopes that her story will encourage more people to participate in clinical trials.
If we don’t do the trials, we’ll never get any further ahead of what works and what doesn’t.
Patrick's story
Patrick Gilmore had gone through treatment and been in remission several times for mantle cell lymphoma – a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He’d been waiting to hear if he was eligible for a local clinical trial that was testing the effectiveness of immunotherapy for blood cancer, called CAR T-Cell immunotherapy.
Patrick’s cancer came back in November 2021, and in 2022, he learned that he would be able to participate in the immunotherapy clinical trial at Vancouver General Hospital.
“I was able to notice a difference within 2 weeks of the treatment. My lymph nodes were starting to shrink, and they were almost undetectable,” he says.
To continue participating in the clinical trial, his health will be monitored for the next 15 years.
Had it not been for this treatment, I wouldn’t be here today […] Clinical trials like these are the most important thing for the future of cancer treatment.
“Clinical trials are so important, not just to test these things out and see how this treatment works – which is always beneficial – but also because researchers ask questions like, ‘how can we focus on things that are less invasive?’” Patrick says. “They're constantly trying to move treatment options forward in new and innovative ways."
In July 2024, Patrick’s doctors helped him get a new drug called Epcoritamab, another form of immunotherapy given by injection. Patrick hopes this will once again put him into remission. This latest treatment seems to be getting closer to a cure and gives cancer patients like Patrick hope for a healthy and cancer-free future.
A reliable source of information
While clinical trials can lead to exceptional stories like Gayle and Patrick’s, each trial offers its own possible risks and benefits that should be fully discussed with the clinical trial team.
Cancer Trials Canada has information to help guide decisions, including details on each trial like trial location, treatment type and eligibility requirements to help explore the possibility of participating in a trial.
No one should feel overwhelmed when considering clinical trials. We’re here to listen and help. The trained experts at CCS’s Cancer Information Helpline – or Q-CROC's Onco+ for Quebec residents – can answer questions about clinical trials and help people navigate the Cancer Trials Canada website.
Learn more about clinical trials that might be right for you or your loved one.
