Can you tell me a little bit about the pros and cons of clinical trials?

OK, let’s talk a little bit about the pros and cons of enrolling in clinical trials.

The main reason for entering in a clinical trial would be to get benefit from a new experimental treatment. Obviously, since the treatment is experimental you won’t have any guarantee that the treatment will be better, the same, or even worse than the current treatment. But, remember that almost all of the new advances in cancer treatment have had to go through this clinical trial process and being in one of these trials may be the only way to get an experimental treatment.

As we’ll soon discuss, there may be some ways for you to get a sense of how promising a new therapy might be. For example, phase 3 studies will have results from the phase 1 and phase 2 studies that you can examine.

Phase 2 studies will have data from phase 1 studies etc.

Other reasons to enter clinical studies may be to help benefit your fellow man. Studies cannot be completed until a large enough number of patients have participated because it takes a large number of patients to get the data that is necessary to make statistically valid conclusions.

As previously noted, studies have shown that about 70% of children are enrolled in clinical trials versus only about 3-5% of adults. The most common reason given for this enormous difference is that parents are usually extraordinarily aggressive in searching for any potential cure for their children.

Of course, there are risks to clinical trials too. There is no guarantee that the treatment you’ll receive in a clinical trial will be effective.

And, since the treatments are new, there are no real assurances as to the potential side effects.

Sometimes, being enrolled in a clinical trial means more medical tests and doctor visits.

There also may be some costs involved that your insurance may not cover.

What about the medical treatment I will be receiving in the trial?

Since most medical trials take place at major medical centers the quality of care is usually excellent. Most surveys of patients who have been enrolled in clinical trials show that the patients were very happy with the medical care they received.

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