Cancer screening is the process of checking for cancer when there are no symptoms. The methods used to detect cancer are often called screening tests.
Clinical trials are research studies conducted with people who volunteer to take part.
Cancer screening trials study if finding cancer before it causes symptoms decreases the chance of dying from the disease. Screening trials also study ways of identifying conditions that may develop into cancer. Cancer screening trials are important because, for some types of cancer, detecting and treating the disease at an early stage can result in an improved outcome. There may be more treatment options, fewer cancer deaths, and fewer diagnoses of advanced stage cancers as a result of a successful cancer screening trial. However, screening tests do not always improve health outcomes.