Clinical trials evaluate new medications or new drug combinations to improve on current treatments.
Those participating in the trials are usually divided into groups receiving standard treatment and those receving potentially new treatments. Pharmaceutical research has concentrated on prostate cancer, colon cancer, melanoma, breast and lung cancers. The cost of enrolling patients in this type of study, including follow up observations, is about 2,000 dollars each. The pharmaceutical industry takes these costs into account, and usually defrays the costs for doctors whose patients participate in the trials. Currently 40,000-45,000 cancer patients are enrolled in clinical trials in the United States.