The Oncology Unit of HPA Gambelas has another clinical trial in progress. Oncologist Dr. André Andraz Cruz addresses this therapeutic value and its importance in the treatment of cancer patients.
This is an academic clinical trial that aims to assess the best therapeutic sequencing in patients with advanced RAS wild-type colorectal cancer, and is the first phase 3 trial worldwide to address this specific setting. It is a cooperative trial (supported, but not initiated by the pharmaceutical industry) of the TTD and GICD groups (treatment and research groups in digestive cancer, Spanish and Portuguese, respectively), which represents a great recognition of our work in the treatment of a of the most prevalent cancer diseases. 12 Hospitals nationwide are included, only 1 private hospital in addition to the HPA and the only centre in the Algarve and southern region.
Given the exponential growth of the Oncology Day Hospital in its assistance capacity, it is essential to complement the treatment and care provided to users with scientific activity. As a medical specialty in rapid and constant evolution, the sharing of knowledge and experience among peers is essential, in order to be able in clinical practice to attest to the real value of cancer treatments. The Oncology Unit is committed to maintaining scientific activity as one of its priorities, as well as providing pioneering clinical trials at a regional level.
International recommendations encourage integration into a clinical trial as the best treatment option for the vast majority of cancer patients, which clearly reflects its importance in clinical practice. Internationally, there is a natural tendency to centralise these trials in large hospitals and academic cancer centres, however, and due to the impossibility of treating all patients in a timely manner, there is an essential and growing connection with more peripheral hospitals.
We believe that in the demographic context of the Algarve, taking into account the obvious geographical distance to the capital, it is extremely important to make this treatment option available to cancer patients. Thus, the promotion of health literacy and the demystification of the concept associated with the clinical trial is also extremely important; this is not a random laboratory experiment, but a guarantee of the quality and rigor of the best possible treatment.
1, July 2020
