Deciding to take part in a clinical trial

Deciding to take part in a clinical trial

You have cancer, you want to think about joining a clinical trial. Like all treatment options, potential benefits and risks of clinical trials. Look closely at all options, including medical tests, you are taking an active role in the decisions that affect your life. This time you can use your judgment information.

Potential benefits

• You are not available to people outside the trial, will have access to a new treatment.
• You will see the combined research team.
• treatment being studied is more effective than standard treatment, you may be among the first to benefit.
• trial to learn more about cancer and may help scientists to help people in the future.

Potential risks

• new treatments, better than the standard treatment, or may not even be as good as him.
• New treatments may have side effects that doctors do not expect or that are worse than those of the standard treatment.
• If you were standard treatment may be required to make more visits to the doctor. You like travel and childcare costs may be additional visits, related to additional costs.
• If you need additional tests. The test can be uncomfortable or spend some time.
• The benefits of a new treatment for some patients even if it may not work for you.
• can not cover the costs of care for all patients in the trial health insurance.

Who can join

Each clinical trial will be carried out during a protocol, or the study plan that trial, how the trial will be conducted, and why it is important for every part of the trial. Part of the hearing and the trial protocol includes instructions for those who can not. These instructions are called eligibility criteria.

Common eligibility criteria include:

• a certain type of cancer or stage having
• received in the past (or receive) a particular type of therapy
• Having certain genetic changes in the tumor
• Being of a certain age group
• Medical History
• Current health status

Criteria such as these help reduce health differences between people in the trial.

Some people can be made worse by the cancer treatment trials have health problems. If you are interested in being involved in a trial, you will receive your medical tests to ensure fit for trial.