Resources

Everything you need to know for deciding whether participating in a clinical trial is right for you, and then what to ask as you begin the process.

Introduction to Clinical Trials

This Clinical Trial Guide article provides an introduction to Clinical Trials. If you are reading our online Clinical Trial Guide, it is likely either you…

Clinical Trial Phases and Safety

While safety has always been the top priority when it comes to any kind of medical treatment, clinical trials have added precautions because they are exploring uncharted waters.

Informed Consent and Eligibility

Before any individual is allowed to participate in a clinical trial, they must have informed consent

Questions to Ask Before Joining a Clinical Trial

What Questions Should Patients Ask Before a Clinical Trial? Informed consent is an important legal practice when clinical trials are being conducted

Clinical Trial Phase Duration

Three main phases are conducted in clinical trials, with the fourth and final phase taking place upon the approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the new drug or treatment to be used on a large number of patients who have the condition.

Procedures and Ethical Standards

This article focuses on answering the questions or concerns many people face when considering joining a trial, such as how long it will last, legal issues, and participant qualification

Clinical Trial Statistics and Randomization

There are many statistical factors involved in any new treatment or drug in clinical trial research. Therefore, a certain practice called randomization is typically factored into clinical trial studies at a certain point.

Do I Qualify for a Clinical Trial?

It is important to be aware of the eligibility criteria of a specific trial before looking further into a study for your condition, as they are the ultimate deciding factors as to whether or not a volunteer or participant would be able to join a trial.

Who Funds Clinical Trials and Why? Are They Ethical?

In this article, we will describe the organizations most often responsible for funding clinical trials, their motivations for doing so, and the ethical responsibilities they bear through their involvement in the studies they fund.

Clinical Trials FAQ

Considering a clinical trial? Our in-depth FAQ provides all the essential information you need to make an informed decision.

Clinical Trial Purposes

Why do people participate in clinical trials?

People volunteer for clinical trials for many reasons, and not all of them have diseases. Healthy people may volunteer because they simply want to advance scientific study. Some with illnesses participate in the hope of helping others or seek the benefit of receiving an innovative treatment that could help their conditions.

What kinds of medical research are there?

There are four types of medical research: epidemiological research, which studies diseases, their causes, and their effects on people; behavioral studies, which examine how human behavior affects health; health services research, which looks at the level of access people have to healthcare providers and health care, and how it affects their care; and clinical trials, which consist of experiments and observations of the effects of various interventions on health outcomes.

What are the main questions clinical trials attempt to answer?

Fundamentally, clinical trial researchers are trying to determine whether interventions are safe and effective. The two major questions researchers are attempting to answer are: Is this clinical trial process they are going to perform on people or a new drug they are giving them going to work to improve their health, and is it going to do so without causing an unreasonable amount of further harm?

What is the purpose of clinical research?

Clinical research helps researchers and physicians advance their understanding of diseases and other conditions and how best to treat them. By definition, clinical trials involve biomedical or behavioral research that studies new and existing interventions that could show promise in improving outcomes in disease, chronic medical conditions, and mental health disorders.

What are the types of clinical trials?

If you are looking for a clinical trial related to your particular condition or the condition of a friend or loved one, the types of clinical trials you are most likely looking for either a treatment trial or a quality-of-life trial. Treatment trials study new drugs, combinations of drugs, or new approaches to surgical or radiation procedures, while quality of life trials (also known as supportive care trials) look for ways to measure and improve the quality of life for people with existing conditions or illnesses.

What are the possible risks of participating in a clinical trial?

A new treatment may not be more beneficial than a current/standard treatment
Depending on the trial, you may be given a placebo, meaning no treatment
Uncomfortable and time-consuming testing may be involved
Substantial travel and doctor visits during the trial may be necessary
The new treatment may work well for some and not for others
Health insurance may not cover the costs

What are the possible benefits of participating in a clinical trial?

Accessing a new treatment not yet available to others
Being closely monitored by a qualified research team
Being one of the first to benefit from a treatment that proves to be more effective than current standard treatments

Helping scientists learn more about diseases so that they can help people in the future

What happens with the results of a clinical trial?

Once a clinical trial is complete, the FDA makes sure that the results of a clinical trial are published and shared to the public at the appropriate time. These research practices and protocols hold all clinical trials to an ethical and legal standard and ensure that all findings and conclusions are fully disclosed to the public. Thanks to the regulations monitored by the FDA and many other organizations, clinical trials today have been able to remain a scientific practice while also maintaining good ethical applications, striving to operate as safely as possible.