DEPARTMENTS

Clinical Research

CONTACT THIS DEPARTMENT

Great Falls Clinic Specialty Center
3000 15th Avenue South
Great Falls, MT 59405
(406) 268-3957

Clinical Research Coordinators Contact Information:
(406) 771-3373


DEPARTMENT HOURS

Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm

LOCATIONS

The Great Falls Clinic Clinical Research Department, in conjunction with Clinic providers, actively participate on a national level in clinical research studies, which allows patients in Great Falls and the surrounding area to participate in clinical trials that, at one time, were only offered in large cities. The clinical trials incorporate state-of-the-art patient care with the most recent breakthroughs in medicine.

View all Great Falls Clinic Open Research Studies.

 

Clinical research trials contribute to evidence-based medicine by helping find new and better ways to treat patients. The contribution that research makes plays a vital role in the advancement of medical therapies, medications and technologies. Without research, these advancements would not exist.

Clinical research trials are conducted in phases.

Phase I – An experimental drug or treatment is given to find a safe dose, to decide how the new treatment should be given or to see how the new treatment affects the human body. Usually 10-15 people participate in the clinical trial.

Phase II – An experimental drug or treatment is given to a group of between 100 and 300 people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.

Phase III – An experimental drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people (1,000-3,000) to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments and collect information that will allow the experimental drug or treatment to be used safely.

Phase IV – Post marketing studies are conducted to evaluate risks, benefits and optimal use of the drug or treatment or a new indication for already approved drugs.

Benefits:

Clinical trials offer high-quality care. If you are in a randomized study and do not receive the new treatment being tested, you will receive the best known standard treatment. This may be as good as, or better than, the new approach.

  • If a new treatment is proven to work and you are taking it, you may be among the first to benefit.
  • By looking at the pros and cons of clinical trials and your other treatment choices, you are taking an active role in a decision that affects your life.
  • You have the chance to help others and improve treatment.

Risks:

New treatments under study are not always better than, or even as good as, standard care.

  • If you receive standard care instead of the new treatment being tested, it may not be as effective as the new approach. New treatments may have side effects that doctors do not expect or that are worse than those of standard treatment.
  • Even if a new treatment has benefits, it may not work for you. Even standard treatments, proven effective for many people, do not help everyone.

ALL CURRENTLY OPEN RESEARCH STUDIES


McLaughlin Research Institute: Biological & Genetic Mechanisms of Chronic Inflammatory Conditions

What’s Involved: One clinical visit with a single blood draw (<50mL)
Who’s Eligible:

  • Adults with diagnosed Alzheimer’s or Alzheimer’s-Like Disease, Mild Cognitive Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, or Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  • Healthy adults with well-controlled or no underlying medical conditions

Status: Active, Recruiting


iSpecimen: Biomarker Discovery & Validation

What’s Involved: One clinical visit with a single blood draw (<50mL)
Who’s Eligible:

  • Treatment-naive Patients with DCIS or Stage 1, 2, or 3 Breast Cancer

Status: Active, Recruiting


20170770 (Proclaim): Phase III

Investigator: Dr. Jessica Kaae
Protocol Title: Study of Romiplostim for Chemotherapy-induced Thrombocytopenia in Adult Subjects with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, or Breast Cancer
Trial link: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03937154
Status: Active, Recruiting


National Cancer Institute Clinical Trials via the Montana Cancer Consortium

Study Interest:

  • There are more than 50 open trials for all different cancer types.
  • Please reach out to your Oncologist to ask about a trial that may be open for you!

Caris Pharmatech Oncology Clinical Trials

Study Interest:

  • This small subset of trials is open to different tumor biomarkers for different cancer types.
  • While these trials are more limited in their inclusion criteria, please reach out to your Oncologist to know if there is a trial open for you!

20170625 (Vesalius): Phase III

Investigator: Dr. Libby Lake
Protocol Title: Effect of Evolocumab in Patients with High Cardiovascular Risk Without Prior Myocardial Infarction or Stroke
Trial link: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03872401
Status: Active, NOT Recruiting