ST. HELENA, Calif. – The Martin-O’Neil Cancer Center has been given government approval to enroll its patients in national clinical trials designed to improve outcomes and reduce side effects, Center Medical Director Gregory Smith, M.D., announced.

Dr. Smith said the Martin-O’Neil Cancer Center now has access to large national clinical trials covering most types of cancer. They can enroll a patient for treatment in as little as 24 hours. Since the trials are National Cancer Institutes approved, Medicare and most insurance companies also cover them.

“Most trials do not involve the use of placebo unless there are no approved treatment options” Dr. Smith, a medical oncologist and hematologist emphasized. “We will be able to add our patients to national studies of promising drug treatments involving thousands of patients. Martin-O’Neil Cancer Center patients will get treatment available only in major cancer centers.

“Only 3 percent of patients in the United States are placed on clinical trials, and this is a shame because they are not being offered the best treatment available. Only through participation in clinical trials are we going to find cures for cancer,” he added.

Dr. Smith noted that one clinical trial drug “puts calcium back in the bones to make them stronger so there is less pain and fracturing in patients with metastatic prostate cancer. “We have lots of treatment options, but can now offer those, plus something new that has shown promise.” For example, other trials for breast cancer offer promise of new drug treatments added to standard treatment.

Oversight of the clinical trials for local patients is rigorous, according to Dr .Smith. “UCSF, our clinical trial affiliate, and the National Cancer Institutes Review Board will be looking over our shoulder at every patient enrolled in one of trials.”

The UCSF affiliation, initially set for five years, further enhances the services of the Martin-O’Neil Cancer Center by providing coordinated access to a comprehensive array of treatment options at UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, which is one of the nation’s largest clinical and

research cancer programs.

The Martin-O’Neil Cancer Center, opened in November 2009, and is a 12,500-square-foot facility dedicated to outpatient cancer care using the most advanced technology and a commitment to whole-person care. It is part of the new Johnson Pavilion that was funded by $26 million in community

contributions and includes the Trinchero Surgery Center.

For more information, visit www.napavalleycancercare.org.