Clinical Trials

1
Clinical Trials

• The Way We Make Progress Against Disease

2
What Are Clinical Trials?

• Research studies to find better ways to prevent,
  detect, or treat disease
• Help health care providers find ways to improve
  patient care

3
Why Are Clinical Trials Important?

• Most of the best treatments we have today are
  based on what we learned from clinical trials
• People are living longer because of clinical
  trials

4
Do Many People Take Part in Clinical Trials?

• Few people take part
• The more people who take part, the faster we will
  find better ways to treat and prevent disease

5
What Are the Different Types of Clinical Trials?

• Treatment
• Prevention
• Diagnostic
• Screening/early detection
• Quality of life

6
Treatment Trials

• What new treatments can help people with a
  particular disease?
• What is the most effective treatment for people
  with that disease?

7
Treatment Trials

• Many treatment trials compare two or more
  different approaches to treating a disease
• Participants will take either
• The best accepted treatment
• A new treatment

8
Prevention Trials

• What approaches can prevent healthy people from
  developing disease?

9
Prevention Trials

• Two kinds, that ask participants to either
• 1. Do something
• 2. Take something

10
Protecting Patients Safety

• Informed Consent
• Before agreeing to take part, patients have the
  right to understand all that is involved in a
  clinical trial
• Procedures and treatments
• Tests
• Possible risks and benefits

11
Protecting Patients Safety

• Institutional Review Board
• Committee made up of experts

12
Benefits of Taking Part

• Possible benefits
• Patients will receive, at a minimum, the best
  standard treatment
• If the new approach is proven to work, patients
  may be among the first to benefit
• Patients have a chance to help others and improve
  health care

13
Risks of Taking Part

• Possible risks
• Unknown side effects or other risks
• New treatment may not help every participant
• Costs

14
Where to Find Clinical Trial Information

• Your health care provider
• National Library of Medicine
• www.ClinicalTrials.gov

15
National Institute of Dental and
Craniofacial Research NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF
HEALTH www.nidcr.nih.govAdapted from a slide
presentation developed by the National Cancer
Institute, for its Cancer Clinical Trials
Education Series.