Clinical Trials

Clinical Trials: What You Need to Know

Knowing all you can about clinical trials can help you feel better when deciding whether or not to take part in one. This guide addresses many basic questions and concerns about clinical trials so that you will be better prepared to discuss this option with your doctor and your family. It can help you decide which questions you need to ask and what the answers may mean for you.

Clinical Trials Patient Worksheet [PDF, 37.10Kb]

This worksheet (in PDF format) provides a list of questions you can ask to help you decide whether a particular clinical trial is right for you.

Clinical Trials: State Laws Regarding Insurance Coverage

Get information about federal and state laws and special agreements that require insurance plans to cover a patient's medical expenses during a clinical trial.

Placebo Effect

Even though placebos are not active medicines, they seem to help some patients. The effects of placebos may occur because the patient believes in the substance, the treatment, or the doctor. Even if a person feels better after taking a placebo, it doesn't mean the person's illness or symptoms were not real.

Compassionate Drug Use

Medical professionals use the term "compassionate use" to refer to the treatment of a seriously ill patient using a new, unapproved drug outside of a clinical trial when no other treatments are available. Find out more about compassionate drug use here.

Clinical Trials Matching Service

The American Cancer Society Clinical Trials Matching Service is a free, confidential program that helps patients, their families and health care workers find cancer clinical trials most appropriate to a patient's medical and personal situation. Through a partnership with the Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups, we can help you find research studies that are testing new drugs or methods to prevent, detect or treat cancer. In just a few minutes, you can learn more about clinical trials that are relevant to your situation.

Video - Exploring the Options: Clinical Trials

Learn about what participating in a clinical trial is like, why the clinical trial process is so important for cancer research, and how the ACS clinical trials matching service helps people find trials that are right for them.

Raising Awareness about Cancer Clinical Trials - A Video for Clinicians

Despite the importance of clinical trials, only 5% of cancer patients currently participate. Learn more about the Clinical Trials Matching Service and what clinicians can do to increase awareness.

Other Clinical Trials Web sites

Go here for a list of other web sites that offer information and services to help you find a clinical trial that is right for you.