Participate in ALCMI

Men and women diagnosed with advanced stage Lung Cancer with no limit on the number of prior cancer treatments. There is no pre-set limit to the number of people who will participate in the CASTLE Network Study, but it is estimated that 250 people across the United States and possibly from Europe. Patients can be enrolled into CASTLE at one of the Collaborating Institutions, currently 7 academic and community medical centers in the United States (see below) with three to four more to be added soon. Advanced stage Lung Cancer is defined as Stage M1A and M1B Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and all stages of Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC).

You will be asked to provide a tissue sample and blood samples at the time of study entry for diagnostic testing and storage for future research. We will also collect your health information. You will not be asked to undergo another biopsy; instead we will collect a piece of your tumor from your last biopsy.

Your doctor will order diagnostic biomarker and in vitro tests on your tumor tissue as a prerequisite for entry into the CASTLE study. Reports of the results of these tests will be given to your study doctor by the commercial testing laboratories and put in your health records. These test reports may help your doctor decide what treatment to give you, and may affect your care.

You will also be asked to provide blood samples and health information again each time there are changes in your Lung Cancer treatment. In addition, your study doctor will contact you ever three months to ask about your health.

Research that will be done on your cancer tumor tissue and blood samples that will be stored might help people who have Lung Cancer and other diseases in the future. Reports about research done with your tissue and blood samples will not be given to you or your doctor. The research reports will not be put in your clinical records.

You will be in the study for as long as you choose to participate or until the study closes.

To participate in the CASTLE Network Study, you must be a patient at one of the Participating Institutions.

Researchers from other universities, hospitals, and research institutions may conduct research using these samples. They must contact ALCMI and request samples for their studies. A group overseeing how the ALCMI samples and health information is stored and used will review the way that these studies will be done, and decides if any of the samples can be used. If the ALCMI review board agrees that the samples can be used, they will arrange for transfer of samples from the storage location to the researchers.

Clinical trials are an important part of every cancer patient’s treatment regime. We suggest you speak with your oncologist about Lung Cancer clinical trials available in your area. To find clinical trials in your area visit the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation Clinical Trial Matching Service.

A donation to ALCMI is a gift for Lung Cancer patients and their families by supporting our efforts to increase survival through our unprecedented, results-focused work and research. As ALCMI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, charitable donations are generally tax deductible.