Why Are Clinical Trials Important?
Advances in medicine and science come from new ideas and approaches developed through research. New medical treatments must prove to be safe and effective in scientific studies with a certain number of patients before they can be made widely available.
Through clinical trials, researchers at Sylvester learn which approaches are more effective than others. A number of treatments that are now standard were first shown to be effective in clinical trials.
Clinical Research at Sylvester
Translating research breakthroughs into more effective treatments remains one of Sylvester’s highest priorities. Sylvester conducts more clinical research than any other institution in South Florida and has a wide range of clinical trials, with 300 to 350 clinical trials underway at any given time. Each year, between 800 and 1000 people are enrolled on a clinical trial at Sylvester.
Highlights of our scientific trials: The Phase I Clinical Trials Program at Sylvester is South Florida’s only academic Phase I testing center dedicated to drug development for cancer patients. Sylvester also has the only Pediatric Phase I Clinical Trials Program in South Florida.
Treatment trials include leading-edge therapies, such as:
- Oncolytic virus trials
- Immunotherapy trials
- Cellular therapy, such as CAR-T cell trials, for which we are the national leader
- DNA protein kinase inhibitors: Sylvester is one of the few centers worldwide doing this research with the national leader based here