Trial FAQ

What is a clinical trial?

Before a drug can be sold, it must be shown to be “safe and effective.”   In order to demonstrate this safety and efficacy (effectiveness), the drug must be tested in people.  This is done by a multistage process known as “clinical research.”  The earliest stage of testing is known as “Phase I,” which is designed to find a safe dose to use for further testing.  The next stage, “Phase II,” is designed to demonstrate activity of the drug.  “Phase III” confirms the safety and efficacy in a larger number of patients than studied in phase II and usually uses advanced statistical methods to prove patient benefit.  In all phases of clinical research, patient safety is the primary concern and the process is highly regulated by both government and institutional rules and regulations.

 Why should I participate in a clinical trial?

Participation in a clinical trial is entirely voluntary and the reasons that patients volunteer are many and diverse.  However, for many patients with cancer, treatment options may be limited.  While most cancers have a standard treatment, some do not.  Some patients go through standard treatment and still have not been cured.  New, investigational treatments provide hope that additional therapies will be added to the list of drugs used as standard of care.  While benefit to an individual may occur, it cannot be promised and, in fact, new therapies may turn out to be harmful.  However, without clinical trials, there will be no new therapies.  Even when individual benefit does not occur, the information from a clinical trial is used to help understand a new treatment and that understanding may help future patients.

Where can I learn more about clinical trials for patients with cancer?

 The National Cancer Institute maintains an excellent website containing information on a large variety of cancers and clinical trial information for patients (http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials). The database can be searched using a variety of search options including cancer type and geographic locations of the institutions conducting the clinical trials.  Another government website (www.clinicaltrials.gov) has a large database of clinical trials that are available for patient participation.

 The American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) also has an excellent website that contains information on the process of clinical research and also has a searchable database for specific clinical trials that are accepting patients.

 What trials is Attenuon conducting?

Attenuon is conducting clinical research on two products in its pipeline, ATN-224 and ATN-161. Information about these trials can be found here. If you want further information about the trial or want to know if there is a participating clinician near you, call or email Attenuon's Clinical Trials Coordinator (858) 720-8797 x134 or

or fill out an information request here.