What are cancer clinical trials?

Cancer clinical trials are research studies that test new treatments for cancer patients. Clinical trials are the only way to determine if a new treatment is more effective or has fewer side effects than standard treatments. There are many phases of cancer clinical trials, and it takes a long time from the first planning to the final publication of results.

Clinical Trials are necessary because they help physicians learn how well new treatments work, identify which patients will benefit from them, and determine what side effects the treatments have. They also provide valuable information on how to fight cancer.

How are cancer clinical trials conducted?

Clinical trials are conducted on humans to understand the effects of medical intervention and its risks. They also test whether new treatments are better than current ones. Conducting clinical trials is vital to improving the quality of healthcare.

Cancer clinical trials help doctors learn about possible new treatments for cancer patients and their effectiveness. A team of doctors, nurses, statisticians, and others lead these studies after getting approval from a hospital’s ethics committee. The trial usually lasts several years before being approved or disapproved by governmental agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

For clinical trials to be ethical, they need to be conducted following the rules of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Those participating in the trial must provide their consent before taking part. According to the FDA, there are four phases of clinical trials: Phase 0-3. Phase 0 is generally not a clinical trial but instead includes laboratory research studies on animals and cells where there is no risk to participants. Trials on humans for phase 1 go through a small group of healthy volunteers before testing on larger populations. Phase 2 has more participants that make up half of all people with a specific disease or condition and last longer than phase 1.

Different phases of clinical trials:

A clinical trial is a study that tests a drug, medical device, or lifestyle intervention among people to answer scientific questions, like whether one may be better than another. A clinical trial answers specific healthcare questions on the best treatment for an illness or condition. The clinical trial phases are exploratory, descriptive, diagnostic, therapeutic, and confirmatory.

Phase I: The first phase is initiating an investigational drug or biological product in humans.

Phase II: The second phase gives the investigational drug or biological product a limited clinical trial to evaluate dosage and safety.

Phase III: The third phase is a large-scale, multicenter, definitive clinical trial that can lead to public registration of the investigational drug as a drug for human use.

Phase IV: Phase IV includes follow-up studies after successful marketing approval and exploration of new medical uses.