New cancer treatments must prove to be safe and effective in scientific studies with a certain number of patients before they can be made widely available. Through clinical trials, researchers learn which approaches are more effective than others. This is the best way to test a new treatment. A number of standard treatments were first shown to be effective in clinical trials. These trials helped to find new and better treatments.
Patients take part in clinical trials for many reasons.
Usually, they hope for benefits for themselves. They may hope for a cure of disease, a longer time to live, a way to feel better. Often they want to contribute to a research effort that may help others. Based on what researchers learn from laboratory studies, and sometimes earlier clinical studies and standard treatments as well, they design a trial to see if a new treatment will improve on current treatments. The hope is that it will.