A clinical trial is a research study that evaluates a new treatment. Clinical trials rely on the participation of patients who volunteer to try new or modified treatments.
Clinical trials help scientists determine the safety and effectiveness of new therapies.
All therapies that the Huntsman Cancer Institute investigates through clinical trials have been thoroughly researched in the laboratory. Laboratory results have given researchers reason to believe these treatments could prove to be more effective than current cancer therapies or will provide additional treatment options for cancer patients and the next step is to study them in a clinical, rather than laboratory, setting. Usually patients participate in clinical trials because they hope to benefit themselves and because they want to contribute to a research effort that helps other cancer patients. Researchers conducting clinical trials of a new cancer therapy believe that it could be more effective than the current standard treatment, so patients in a clinical trial may receive the benefit of the new treatment before it would otherwise be available. Whether the outcome is beneficial or disappointing, patients involved in clinical trials are helping to find new and better treatments for cancer.