Clinical Trials

Introduction

Clinical trials are studies that evaluate the effectiveness of new drugs or treatment strategies. The development of more effective cancer treatments requires that new and innovative therapies be evaluated with cancer patients. Each clinical trial is designed to find new or better ways to treat cancer patients. In oncology, clinical trials are especially important because, in the absence of high cure rates, nearly all therapeutic approaches are developmental in nature.

Currently, there are hundreds of ongoing clinical trials in the United States. Although clinical trials are an important component of cancer care and are crucial for improving cancer treatment, fewer than 5% of cancer patients currently participate in clinical trials because they are uninterested or unaware that they exist, have difficulty finding an appropriate clinical trial that may be of benefit to them, or are ineligible to participate in a clinical trial because of prior treatment interventions.

It is extremely important to decide whether or not to participate in a clinical trial before receiving any treatment from a physician. To learn more about clinical trials, please click on any of the subcategories.