What are the benefits of taking part in a clinical trial?
One advantage is the possibility that a new treatment (or diagnostic test or preventive measure) will turn out to be better than a more established method. Patients who take part in approaches that prove to be better have the first chance to benefit from them. In phase III clinical trials, in which one treatment is compared with another, patients receive either the most advanced and accepted treatment for the kind of cancer they have—known as the “standard” treatment—or a new treatment that has shown promise of being at least as beneficial as the standard treatment. People who take part in clinical trials receive specialized care under a very precise set of directions, or protocol. To ensure quality care, highly trained and experienced cancer specialists design, review, and approve each protocol. In addition, all participants in clinical trials are carefully monitored during the study and are followed afterwards. Participants are often included in a network of clinical trials carried o
