Frequently Asked Questions

Patients who fulfill protocol inclusion criteria with cancer in whom standard of care is of limited or no effective use.

Clinical trials are methods written out in a protocol by which patients receive an experimental agent under appropriate guidelines established by the Food and Drug Administration and acceptable to your doctor which maximize safety and evaluation parameters specific for that agent.

All research costs including the treatment are no charge to the participating patient.

Cancer clinical trials undergo close evaluation by FDA and IRB to maximize safety prior to release for experimental treatment by your doctor or a referred research physician

Responses to experimental therapies have been observed in patients where no standard of care is available and in particular appear to have more optimal response when associated with precision target and therapy.

Some trials offer standard of care with a placebo or experimental therapy in combination with standard of care. You will be told if this is part of your trial as part of discussions with our team.

Call 567-402-4500 and state you are seeking an evaluation for clinical trial.

All research specific evaluations, tests and treatments are not charged to the patient candidate. Parts of the research treatment are standard of care and will be managed between patient candidate and insurer.

Discuss with your doctor. Call for an evaluation at 567-402-4500

• Phase 1 trials involve early testing of a new therapy for the first time in patients as a single agent therapy or as new combination therapy with standard of care. These trials are searching for optimal dose of the therapy with least toxicity and evidence of therapeutic activity.

• Phase 2 trials provide Phase 1 evaluated therapeutic agents and search for level of benefit at optimal treatment dose learned in Phase 1 testing.

• Phase 3 trials evaluate the optimal Phase 2 trial dose in comparison against best standard of care therapy.

Yes. Consider reviewing our website and discuss with your doctor about a referral to Taylor Cancer Research Center, for a precision therapy trial evaluation.

Yes. Precision therapy was first applied just before 2003 in breast cancer treatment involving the HER2 target, but when the human genome was sequenced in 2003, we learned the genetic differences between cancer and non-cancer cells (normal cells). This identified genetic targets in cancer safe to disrupt in order to generate anticancer activity.

Genetic discoveries were not as advanced before 2003. When the whole human genome was constructed in 2003, we learned what normal genes were and since have been able to define abnormal cancer genes. This led to strategic construction of various types of precision therapies that disrupt the cancer driver genes.

There are limited side effects to some precision therapies. Most precision therapies, however, have mild to moderate side effects but are generally less severe than side effects related to chemotherapy which does not target only the cancer cells.

Precision therapy is designed to target specific gene targets that drive cancer growth and spread. Not all cancer targets have been identified and not all identified targets have been managed by precision therapy as the process of clinical trial validation and FDA registration takes time. Clinical trials are underway to try to involve as many genetic targets as possible related to driving cancer growth and spread but sometimes you will have a target that does not yet have a treatment or trial opportunity.

Precision therapy is not available for all targets that stimulate cancer growth and spread. If a target is not identified in you or a trial is not available, standard-of-care treatment will still be able to be offered by your doctor.

None that have been discovered.

None that have been discovered.

The oncologists at the Toledo Clinic Cancer Center have extensive experience in management of cancer with up-to-date standard of care approaches. They are supported by a wealth of support services from the Toledo Clinic.

Moreover, the Toledo Clinic Cancer Center in Maumee, where the Taylor Cancer Research Center is located, was constructed with the most updated services, facilities, and personnel for robust patient management. Over 11,000 cancer patients were cared for at Toledo Clinic Cancer Center in 2023.

The Toledo Clinic Cancer Center developed a relationship with Taylor Family Research Foundation and established the state-of-the-art, not-for-profit, Taylor Cancer Research Center. Dr. John Nemunaitis, a well-published, highly cited research oncologist, was awarded the position of President and Chief Scientific Officer to oversee the operations of the Taylor Cancer Research Center.