Clinical Trials

Clinical Trials are research studies aimed at evaluating medical, surgical, or behavioral interventions to determine if a new treatment is safe and effective. Cancer clinical trials help to test and advance:

• Cancer prevention.
• New ways to find or diagnose cancer, especially at early stages.
• Discover new treatment options.
• Management of side effects from cancer treatment.

Research studies involve people of all kinds, including those who are healthy and those who are seriously ill. Most standard treatments we use today are the result of clinical trials.

Before the opening of a study at The Medical Center, a Site Initiation Visit is conducted. The doctor or person who chaired the study at UK makes a short presentation of what the study is about, what it involves, and the pros and cons for the patients. Med Center Health staff – including the research coordinator, physicians and nurse practitioners – then seek out the patients who have the certain types of diseases the trial requires and who are eligible to enroll. That information is provided to UK and they decide if the study is approved to move forward at The Medical Center.

The first clinical trial at The Medical Center involves precision medicine personalized for lung cancer patients based on cancer-causing mutations found in the blood or tumor. Patients can receive targeted therapy specific to their mutation. The goal is to improve length and quality of life for many of our lung cancer patients while reducing harmful side effects that can be caused by normal chemotherapy.

As the Clinical Research Coordinator for The Medical Center at Bowling Green, Tina Berger embraces the opportunity to provide an open door for patients who wish to be on the leading edge of cancer treatment.

“We want our cancer patients here in Bowling Green to be able to receive cutting edge treatment at home where they have support of family and friends, as opposed to having to travel outside their community,” said Berger.  

Tina’s role as the Clinical Research Coordinator requires rigorous and ongoing training in the conduct of clinical study and research ethics to support the local availability of important clinical study. As a clinical research professional, Tina provides information about participation in clinical research and information about specific studies.

Tina works hand-in-hand with both Medical Oncology and Radiation Oncology. If a patient’s cancer and other medical assessments meet the eligibility criteria for a clinical study, and the patient wishes to participate, Tina meets with them to explain the study, making sure the patient understands the steps involved and the pros and cons.