As a patient, it can be hard to decide about your treatment. There are a number of things to consider. Cancer is a life-threatening disease that causes symptoms of its own, not related to treatment. In each case, the unavoidable risks of the cancer itself, and your health, should be considered against the possible risks and benefits of a new research treatment. Standard treatments, as well as treatments in clinical trials, can also cause side effects and risks.
Every clinical trial is set up to answer a set of research questions.
If you fit the guidelines for a trial, you may be eligible to take part. Each study enrolls patients with certain types and stages of cancer. A study that involves two or more treatments can give reliable answers only if all the patient cases are similar, so they can be compared with one another. The strict requirements for a clinical trial also protect patients, as well as researchers. Safe guards are built in to make sure the patient is healthy enough to make treatment reasonably safe, so that the right patient with the right disease and health status receives the right treatment.