The trials typically test new drugs, new approaches to surgery or radiation treatment, new combinations of existing treatments or novel methods such as gene therapy. Carefully designed trials may lead to new and better treatments and eliminate less effective ones. Clinical trials represent the hope of the future. Dr. Creagan says it's important for people with cancer and their families to understand the three tiers of clinical trials. This is the first step in testing a new treatment in humans.
Researchers also are interested in finding any harmful effects.
Only a limited number of people who would not be helped by existing treatments are included in these trials because little is known about the risks and benefits of the treatment being tested. I trials are not designed primarily to shrink or eliminate cancers. They are intended to assess toxicity and measure side effects. Here the focus is to try to determine whether a new treatment has an anticancer effect. As in a Phase I trial, only a limited number of people participate due to the risks and unknowns involved.