Why are there clinical trials?
A clinical trial is one of the final stages of a long and careful research process. Studies are

done with various patients to find out whether promising approaches to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment are safe and effective.

Why are there clinical trials?
A clinical trial is one of the final stages of a long and careful research process. Studies are done with various patients to find out whether promising approaches to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment are safe and effective.

Who is eligible to participate in a clinical trial?
Each study has its own guidelines for who can participate, called eligibility criteria.  Examples of eligibility criteria for a cancer trial might be a particular type and stage of cancer, age, gender, or previous treatments.  To find out if you are eligible for a particular study, talk to your doctor or the doctor or nurse in charge of enrolling patients for the study

Where are trials conducted?
If you were to participate in a clinical trial, you might do so at a large cancer center, a university hospital, or your local medical center or physician's office.  The trial may include participants at one or two highly specialized centers or it may involve hundreds of locations at the same time.

What are the phases of clinical trials?
Most clinical research that involves the testing of a new drug progresses in an orderly series of steps, called phases. Clinical trials are usually classified into one of three phases:

Phase I trials: These first studies in people evaluate how a new drug should be given (by mouth, injected into the blood, or injected into the muscle), how often, and what dose is safe.

Phase II trials: A phase II trial continues to test the safety of the drug, and begins to evaluate how well the new drug works

Phase III trials: These studies test a new drug, a new combination of drugs, or a new surgical procedure in comparison to the current standard.

What are the potential risks and benefits of clinical trials?
Potential benefits include:
Health care provided by leading physicians in the field of cancer research.
Access to new drugs and interventions before they are widely available.
Close monitoring of your health care and any side effects.

A more active role in your own health care.
If the approach being studied is found to be helpful, you may be among    the first to benefit.
An opportunity to make a valuable contribution to cancer research.

The potential risks include:

New drugs and procedures may have side effects or risks unknown to the doctors.
New drugs and procedures may be ineffective, or less effective, than current approaches.
Even if a new approach has benefits, it may not work for you.

What happens during a trial?
If you decide to participate in a clinical trial, you will work with a research team. Team members may include doctors, nurses, social workers, dieticians, and other health care professionals. They will provide your care, monitor your health carefully, and give you specific instructions about the study.

 Participating in a trial may mean that you might have more tests and doctor visits than you would if you weren't in the study.

To Search for a Clinical Trial Click on the Link Below:
http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials

To Learn More About Clinical Trials Click on the Link Below:
http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/learning/what-is-a-clinical-trial