Clinical Trials
What Are Clinical Trials?
Clinical trials are research studies that involve people. Through clinical trials, doctors find new ways to improve treatments and the quality of life for people with disease.
Researchers design cancer clinical trials to test new ways to:
- Treat cancer
- Find and diagnose cancer
- Prevent cancer
- Manage symptoms of cancer and side effects from its treatment
Read the full article on the National Cancer Institute website.
Is patient participation in Clinical Trials associated with longer survival?
Here are the findings of this major 2024 investigation published in JAMA:
Survival Benefit Associated With Participation in Clinical Trials of Anticancer Drugs A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Question
Is patient participation in cancer drug trials associated with a survival benefit?
Findings
In this systematic review and meta-analysis of 39 studies (85 comparisons), participation in trials by patients with cancer was associated with greater survival benefit compared with routine care (hazard ratio [HR], 0.76). However, survival benefit was not significantly greater when only high-quality studies were pooled (HR, 0.9) or when the sample was adjusted for possible publication bias (HR, 0.94).
Meaning
After accounting for biases and confounders, cancer clinical trial participation was not associated with a survival benefit.
Where can I get more information?
Ask your Doctor/Oncologist about Clinical Trials that may be of interest to you, or visit these websites. Note: Many Clinical Trials are open to people from outside the country in which the trial is taking place.
Europe
European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer
Ireland
Cancer Trials
United Kingdom
Medical Research Council
International
Center Watch
U.S.A
ClinicalTrials.gov
National Cancer Institute
Updated January 2025