News from the CIUSSS

Clinical trials day at the JGH

Participation in a clinical trial offers patients early access to novel treatments.

Anyone who has recently been diagnosed with cancer, or is facing a clinical decision regarding their treatment, will be interested in visiting the Segal Cancer Centre Clinical Trials Day 2019 kiosk at the Pavilion K entrance to the Jewish General Hospital on Tuesday May 21 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Meet Nomsa Chari, Liaison Research Coordinator with the Quebec Clinical Research Organization in Cancer (Q-CROC), and two patients who have previously participated in clinical trials.

International Clinical Trials Day is celebrated to raise awareness of the importance of research to health care and to draw attention to ways in which research can become more relevant to practice. Patients are fully advised of the potential benefits and possible risks before ever being asked to join a clinical trial. Along with the hope of experiencing improvements in their own conditions, theyget the satisfaction of contributing to the advancement of medical science that will help countless others in the future.

Clinical Trials Day marks the day in 1747 when Dr. James Lind launched what is considered to be the very first clinical trial in medical history. A Scottish naval surgeon,Dr. Lind decided to confront uncertainty between several different proposed remedies for scurvy, which was a common affliction among sailors, by comparing their effects. He allocated two sailors to each of six different treatments for a period of 14 days. His trial showed that oranges and lemons were dramatically better than the other supposed treatments. His simple model serves as the basic principle for randomized controlled clinical trials to this day.

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