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Important informations

Research at the LDI

Clinical Trials

Help improve the quality of care and services by participating in a clinical trial !

Clinical research is research on human subjects aimed at ascertaining the efficacy of a treatment or medication when measured against existing standards of care. It will determine whether a particular drug or procedure is as effective in people as it appeared in the laboratory and if there are potential adverse effects that need to be weighed against the potential benefits

Clinical trials are important to finding new ways to:

  • Treat a disease or condition;
  • Find and diagnose a disease or condition;
  • Detect and prevent a disease or condition;
  • Manage symptoms of a disease or condition, and the side effects from its treatment;
  • Improve quality of life during and after treatment.

Clinical trials involve collaboration between clinician-researchers and study volunteers and help set the standards for patient care. clinical trials may be carried out with participants who are healthy or who have a specific medical condition.

If you decide to take part in a clinical trial, you will be helping to create new knowledge about a disease or condition and to improve care for future patients. Furthermore, clinical trial volunteers, who participate only after giving informed consent, benefit by gaining access to new treatments before they are widely available.

Over the years, clinical studies led by Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (LDI) researchers have led to many discoveries.

Clinical research is broken into the following key phases, each treated as a separate clinical trial.

In Phase 1 trials, researchers evaluate the safety of an experimental drug or treatment in a small group of volunteers (20-80). This phase also serves to determine a safe dosage range and to identify potential side effects.

In Phase 2 trials, researchers further evaluate the safety and assess the efficacy and correct dosing of the experimental drug or treatment in a larger group of patients (100-300).

In Phase 3 trials, researchers test the experimental drug or treatment in a much larger, more diverse population (1,0000 – 3,000) to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, develop safe dosage guidelines, and compare it with existing products used for same condition or disease.

If the experimental drug or treatment successfully passes through these three key phases, it will usually be approved by Health Canada for ruse in the general population. In some case, Phase 4 trials may be required by Health Canada to evaluate long-term safety, the use of the drug or treatment on specific population groups, such as children, or to further assess optimal conditions of use.

To find out more about clinical trials, patients may consult https://itstartswithme.ca/ or some of the resources listed below.

Clinical trials at the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal/Jewish General Hospital

With over 800 clinical trials in the past 20 years, the Jewish General Hospital (JGH) is a hub for clinical studies in Quebec often initiated by discoveries made in the LDI laboratories. Currently, over 340 clinical trials are active at the CIUSSS/LDI.

The Segal Cancer Centre’s Clinical Research Unit

The Segal Cancer Centre (SCC) plays a major role in clinical research. The Maria Saputo Monticciolo Clinical Research Unit (CRU), located on the 6th floor of the Segal Cancer Center (SCC), focuses on the conduct of phase I and early phase II cancer trials. The SCC is also involved in larger phase II and III oncology clinical trials which are coordinated through the Clinical Research Program of the McGill Department of Oncology.

Throughout the years, the CRU’s collaboration with research groups affiliated with the Jewish General Hospital, including researchers of the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research and of the JGH Molecular Pathology department, and other Montreal-based institutes have provided remarkable opportunities to refine precision medicine in cancer.