How the Mayo Clinic handles potential patients in clinical trials

Downtown Rochester skyway
A skyway entrance to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester
Alex Kolyer for MPR News

Phase two of clinical trials testing a new treatment for cancer could begin early this fall. The journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings reported this week that a woman with a type of blood cancer known as multiple myeloma went into remission after being injected with a huge dose of a re-engineered measles vaccine.

It's believed to be the first time that using a virus to attack cancer cells has been successful in a human, but a lot more research is needed to determine if this is an effective treatment.

The Mayo Clinic will be looking for more people to participate in the trials. When cancer patients contact the clinic about joining a clinical trial, the person they are connected with is Toni Kay Mangskau, a clinical trials referral coordinator. MPR's Cathy Wurzer spoke with her on Morning Edition.

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