Why consider a clinical trial for melanoma?

An infographic designed to help inform patients on the basics of participating in melanoma clinical trials.

Why consider a clinical trial for melanoma?

  but more research is needed

As a result, fewer people are dying from melanoma, even though more people are being diagnosed with it.

Since 2011, many new treatments for melanoma have become available that are given either alone or in combination, including the first treatment for ocular (eye) melanoma.

In 2018, the researchers who developed immunotherapy for melanoma won the Nobel Prize in medicine .

These new treatments include: • Immunotherapies, which boost the body’s immune system to find and attack cancer • Targeted therapies, which target and attack the parts of melanoma cells that make them different from normal cells

10,130

Expected deaths from melanoma per year

2023 7,990

2016

Patients say they donʼt take part because: • They aren’t aware of clinical trials • They think clinical trials don’t happen where they live • They think clinical trials are only for patients if standard, approved treatments don’t work

1 in 5 clinical trials for cancer medicines (oncology trials) don’t enroll enough volunteers.

This means new treatments can't complete testing and be made available to people with cancer.

Only 1 out of 20 people with cancer take part in a clinical trial.

You may get access to a promising new treatment that is not available to the general public by taking part in a clinical trial.

In surveys of people who have volunteered for clinical trials:

said taking part in a clinical trial is not at all disruptive or not very disruptive to their general daily routine

61%

You’ll get a chance to have all your questions answered before you decide to take part. After you join, you can leave a clinical trial at any time, and for any reason.

said the care they received during a clinical trial was the same or better compared to their usual care

96%

Only 2 in 10 people say their doctors have discussed medical research with them.

would recommend volunteering to family or friends

86%

Volunteers’ top 3 reasons for taking part in clinical trials: 1. Helping to advance science and treatment 2. Getting better treatment 3. Helping others

Search www.melanoma.org/clinical-trials and speak to your doctor about clinical trials that might be a good fit for you. Many melanoma experts believe that clinical trials could be your first and best treatment option.

Sources:

• American Cancer Society, 2023. Key Statistics for Melanoma Skin Cancer. • Laboratory Corporation of America, 2015. Addressing Ever-rising Cost in Conducting Clinical Trials. Covance, Inc. • Stensland, K.D., et al. Adult Cancer Clinical Trials that Fail to Complete: An Epidemic? September 2014. JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 106 (9).

• The Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP), 2019 and 2021. Perceptions and Insights Study Reports. • Zogby Analytics/Research!America, 2017. National Public Opinion Survey.

 



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