“Clinical trial” is the scientific term for a test or study of a drug or medical device in people. These tests are conducted to find out whether promising approaches to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment are safe and effective. In cancer research, a clinical trial is one of the final stages of a long and careful research process – and is the fastest and safest way to find treatments that work in people and discover ways to improve health.
Choosing to participate in a clinical trial is an important personal decision. Patients who qualify for a clinical trial decide, with the advice of their physician, whether to participate in the study. Participants in clinical trials can play a more active role in their own health care, gain access to new research treatments before they are widely available, and help others by contributing to medical research. By taking part in a clinical trial, you can try a new treatment that may or may not be better than those that already exist. You can also help others better understand how the treatment works in people of various races and genders.
ClinicalTrials.gov is a registry of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted in the United States and around the world. Find trials for a specific medical condition or other criteria in the ClinicalTrials.gov registry. ClinicalTrials.gov currently has 103,585 trials with locations in 174 countries.
