Hundreds of patients are admitted to new clinical trials administered by the U.S. government. Since the government shutdown is going on it’s third day, new patient additions for these trials have been put on hold until the government resumes operation. A recent CNN article sheds light on this situation.

Patients of all types are affected. One such patient, Michelle Langbehn, has endured nine months of chemotherapy, two cycles of radiation, a spinal fusion and several tumor removal surgeries. Unfortunately her clinical-trialcancer continues to spread.  She was in consideration for a new clinical trial testing a new drug called Cabozantinib that’s been approved to fight other cancers, but then the government shutdown went into effect.

If you have GIST progression despite Gleevec and/or Sutent treatment you or your doctor may want to investigate a clinical trial as an option. While clinical trials are technically considered research, many GIST patients have benefited from participation in a clinical trial. Are you interested in learning about a clinical trial? If so, please visit our clinical trial database.

Watch a video below about the current clinical trial predicament:

For more information visit CNN to read the full article.  Share your thoughts about this article below.