Some advances include improved drug combinations, administration of anti-nausea medications during and after chemotherapy to reduce sickness and side effects, and chemotherapy pre-surgery to shrink a tumor or chemotherapy post-surgery to prevent recurrence of tumor (Evolution of Cancer Treatment). Another commonly administered treatment for cancer is radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is the use of high-beamed, frequently external, radiation to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy most often gets its power from X-rays, but power can also come from protons. Radiation therapy was originated in 1989 and began as radium with low-voltage diagnostic machines. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, it was found that radiation could also cause cancer. At this time, erythema dose was discovered, which is the appropriate daily dose of radiation. Many testers of this phenomenon developed leukemia due to the amount of radiation that they were exposed to. The newest forms of radiation therapy reduce damage to uncontaminated tissue. Another advance in radiation therapy is the use of chemical modifiers (radio sensitizers), which are substances that make cancer more sensitive and …show more content…
“Clinical trials are research studies that involve people. They are the final step in a long process that begins with research in a lab. Most treatments we use today are the results of past clinical trials”. There is a doctor, called a principal investigator who prepares a plan for the trial, called a protocol. The protocol states the course of action and contains information that helps the doctor decide if this treatment is right for the patient. The protocol includes information about the reason for the trial, who is eligible for the trial, how many patients are needed for testing, and the drugs and tests that would be administered (Clinical Trial Information). There are three phases of clinical trials. Phase one clinical trials evaluate a new drug to determine maximum tolerable growth. Phase two clinical trials evaluate the efficacy of the drug. Phase three clinical trials compare a new treatment to the patient’s current treatment (Vries 2). Since the first clinical trial in the 1747, many diseases have been eliminated due to in depth drug investigation. In 1947, The Nuremberg Code was established which contains 10 basic statements to protect humans in clinical trials. In 1988 The FDA was given authority and accountability over the results of clinical trials in the United States (Clinical Trials History). 5 year overall survival has improved over the past 30 years