What does the MS01 trial involve?

If you agree to take part in the trial, you will have a thorough check-up before starting treatment. During this check-up, a doctor or research nurse will ask you different questions about your mesothelioma and any treatment you have already had. Don’t worry if you can’t remember all of the details – the hospital staff will have your patient notes.

You will be examined, and have blood tests to check your general health.

You will also have a CT scan before you are entered into the trial. A CT scan is a series of x-rays that builds up a three-dimensional picture of part of the inside of the body.

The scan is painless but takes longer than an x-ray (from 10 to 30 minutes). CT scans of the chest and of the abdomen can show the size and position of the mesothelioma, so that the effect of any treatment can be measured.

CancerBACUP’s section about mesothelioma explains what is involved in all these tests.

You will be asked to fill in a questionnaire designed to measure your quality of life.

After all this, your details will be sent to a central computer that will choose the treatment you receive. Your cancer doctor will then be sent a plan of the treatment you are to have. Your GP will be told that you are taking part in the trial, and about your treatment plan.

You will be asked to consider donating a sample of your tumour and a blood sample, so that researchers can look in the future at the genetic structure of people with mesothelioma and see whether people with different genetic make-ups react differently to the treatment.

Follow-up

As part of the trial you will have regular assessments to find out what effect your treatment is having. Everyone taking part in the trial will see a doctor approximately every three weeks.

You will be examined and asked about any symptoms that you have and this information will be shared with your GP if you give your permission. You will also be asked to fill in a quality-of-life questionnaire. The information you give in the quality-of-life questionnaire is completely confidential and will be seen only by the researchers working on the trial.

You will have a second CT scan about 15 weeks after entering the trial and you will be told the results of any scans.

If your treatment plan includes chemotherapy, you will also have blood tests taken before each dose, and will be asked about any side effects that you have. It is important to tell your doctor or nurse as much as you can about these, as it is often possible to help to reduce them.