Promising New Treatments Can Make the Difference

If you or a family member has cancer, it’s important to know about every treatment option available. After weighing all the risks and benefits of your choices, you may want to consider participating in a clinical trial.

What Are Clinical Trials?

Clinical trials are research studies in which people help doctors find ways to improve health and cancer care. They are designed to show how a particular cancer fighting strategy affects the people receiving it. Some of our doctors use clinical trials to answer scientific questions and find better ways to prevent, screen for, diagnose and treat cancer.

What Are the Benefits of Clinical Trials?

Each trial has its own opportunities and risks, but many people find that all share these benefits:

• 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 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 make a valuable contribution to cancer research.

Are Clinical Trials Safe?

Safety is always a priority. When you participate in a clinical trial, you can be assured

• The ethical and legal codes that govern a medical practice are even more stringent on clinical trials.
• Every clinical trial in the United States must be approved and monitored by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) to make sure the risks are as low as possible and worth any potential benefits.
• A clinical trial follows a detailed protocol which explains exactly how researchers must conduct the trial. Results must be reported regularly to medical experts, peers and government agencies.
• You may stop the trial at any time.
• All trials involve some form of risk. However, they are always evaluated closely.
• Current Clinical Trial Openings