NRG-GU014, also known as the “PARRC” study, is a clinical study that will be testing if adding the immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab to radiation therapy is better at controlling your cancer then compared to the usual chemotherapy treatment during radiation therapy for people with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin, gemcitabine, 5-fluorouracil or mitomycin-C, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Radiation therapy uses high energy x-rays or particles to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Giving pembrolizumab with radiation may kill more tumor cells than chemotherapy with radiation therapy patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Researchers want to know if replacing chemotherapy with the drug pembrolizumab is better, worse, or the same for people with your type of cancer.
More information about this particular study is located on ClinicalTrials.gov
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Below, you can find FAQs about clinical research and this particular clinical trial.
Talk to your insurance provider and make sure that you understand what your insurance pays for and what it doesn’t pay for if you take part in this clinical trial. Also, find out if you need approval from your plan before you can take part in the study.
You will not be paid for taking part in this study.
Doctors and researchers conduct a clinical study, also called a “clinical trial,” to find better ways to prevent, diagnose, or treat an illness. NRG Oncology is supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and runs clinical studies specifically for patients with cancer or to prevent cancer. Most clinical studies test something we know against something we don’t know. In all situations, these studies are strictly evaluated before they are allowed to be offered to any patient. The study is designed to answer the question that we do not know the answer to, so that current and future patients may have better treatments or information than what we currently have. There are different types of clinical studies that might be available for patients. For more information see “Types of Clinical Trials” and “Phases of Clinical Trials”.
Patients who volunteer to take part in a clinical study are followed closely by their health care professionals and members of the research team. For more information see “Research Team Members”.
At NRG Oncology, we focus on conducting clinical studies aimed to improve current cancer care practices and the lives of cancer patients. NRG Oncology partners with more than 1,300 member sites world-wide to research ways to improve treatment standards in the cancer community. Our organization is supported primarily through grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and is one of five research groups in the NCI's National Clinical Trial's Network.