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The Oncology Center of the Interbalkan Medical Center of Thessaloniki is at the forefront of new oncological immunotherapy treatments. At the specialized Department of New Investigational Oncology Drugs, under the scientific responsibility of Oncologist Sofia Baka, MD, MSc, PhD, more than 30 clinical trials of new drugs are currently underway.

More specifically, the Department participates in international multicenter clinical trials for new immunotherapy drugs together with major Research Centers abroad. The administration of new drugs began in 2016 with multicenter studies on lung cancer and continues today with studies on breast cancer, kidney cancer, melanoma and bladder cancer. Clinical trials of new drugs for pancreatic cancer and ovarian cancer are currently in the process of enrollment.

Patients have free access to new treatment options before these become available to the general public through the National Health System.

About Clinical Trials

Public and private Healthcare Units participating in clinical trials are monitored by National and European Medicines Authorities / Organizations.

Clinical trials constitute one of the most important parameters of Medical Research, which can offer direct therapeutic benefit to the patient and indirect benefit to the Community through the broader implementation of new treatments. They compare an established treatment with a new and more promising one, with the aim of demonstrating the superiority of the new treatment in terms of efficacy and safety.

In recent years, clinical trials have increasingly focused on helping to individualize treatment for each oncology patient, promoting the identification of biomarkers that predict response to a new targeted therapy.
More recent clinical trials more frequently use prognostic and predictive markers to identify patients who are likely to benefit from the proposed treatment. This greatly increases the chances that a participating patient will benefit from the investigational drug therapy.

All of the above are important both for prolonging the survival of oncology patients and for the possibility of cure.

Patients Participating in Clinical Trials

The international clinical trials in which the Investigational Oncology Drugs Department participates are conducted in accordance with the principles of Good Clinical Practice, while also giving participating patients the opportunity to take an active role in managing their own health. Their treatment options increase and the results are particularly encouraging: several patients have already been among the first to receive immunotherapy within the framework of clinical trials and have experienced significant improvement in their disease, as well as long-term survival with good quality of life.

According to official database figures, only 5% of patients with malignancies participate in clinical trials because, as indicated by relevant questionnaires, they either do not know what clinical trials are or were not offered this option.
At the Clinical Research conference (14/12/2017), a study by MRB HELLAS SA was presented concerning the procedures and the level of public awareness regarding clinical trials. Referring to the results of the study, the President of the Association of Cancer Patients – Volunteers – Friends – Doctors “K.E.F.I.” of Athens, Ms. Z. Grammatoglou, emphasized the lack of information from specialists, which, as she stated, is due to the limited time each physician has to see their patient, help them learn what they need to know and build the trust required for participation in a clinical trial. She added that although there is a platform listing the clinical trials currently “running”, it is not user-friendly for the general public. At the same conference, Assoc. Professor of Health Policy Kyr. Souliotis noted that neither the state nor healthcare professionals have taken any particularly significant steps toward informing and raising awareness among the public.

Based on the Group’s Operational Planning on this issue and in order to address existing needs in our country, the Interbalkan Medical Center of Thessaloniki developed the Specialized Department of New Investigational Oncology Drugs within its Oncology Center, with the aim of:

• Improving the quality of care provided through the administration of innovative drugs
• Achieving a higher degree of internationalization and promoting its services through high-level research activity
• Continuously modernizing medical technology equipment through participation in Biomedical Research studies
• Specializing staff in new techniques and methods.
• Providing better and more effective information to citizens and patients about clinical trials, procedures and the applicable national and international framework.

For information, contact the Head of the Clinical Oncology Trials Department, Dr. S. Baka, at the Interbalkan Medical Center of Thessaloniki. Tel. 2310 400 368.