10 Things to Know About Clinical Trials
- Clinical trials are research studies that involve people. Each study tries to answer scientific questions and to find better ways to prevent, diagnose or treat cancer.
- In cancer research a clinical trial is designed to show how a particular anticancer strategy--for instance, a promising drug, a gene therapy treatment, a new diagnostic test, or a possible way to prevent cancer--affects the people who receive it.
- A clinical trial is one of the stages of a long and careful cancer research process. Getting promising results from testing a new drug on mice, for example, is a preliminary step to human research studies. Treatments that work well in mice do not always work well in people.
- People can benefit from clinical trials. In treatment trials, for example, participants receive high-quality cancer care--and will be among the first to benefit if a new approach is proven to work.
- Are there drawbacks? New treatments under study are not always better than, or even as good as, standard care. And they may have unexpected side effects. Through a process called informed consent you will learn about a study's treatments and tests, and their possible benefits and risks, before deciding whether or not to participate.
- Who's eligible to participate in clinical trials? Each study has its own guidelines for who can participate. Generally, participants are alike in key ways--such as the type and stage of cancer, age, gender, and other factors.
- Do some people receive a placebo in clinical trials? In treatment trials, involving people who have cancer, placebos are very rarely used.
- Many treatment trials are designed to compare a new treatment with a standard treatment, which is the best treatment currently known for a cancer, based on results of past research. In these studies patients are randomly assigned to one group or another.
- Where do clinical trials take place? They are underway all over the country--in cancer centers, other major medical centers, community hospitals and clinics, physicians' offices and veterans' and military hospitals in numerous cities and towns around the United States.
- Who pays for the patient care costs on clinical trials? Health plans and managed care providers do not always cover all patient care costs in a study. What they cover varies by plan and by study. Ask a doctor, nurse or social worker from the study to help you determine in advance what costs are covered. The research costs, such as data management, are covered by the study sponsor.
