Information
below provided by the National Institute of Health
A clinical trial is one of the final stages of a long and careful cancer research
process. Studies are done with cancer patients to find out whether promising
approaches to cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment are safe and effective.
- Treatment
trials test new treatments
(like a new cancer drug, new approaches to surgery or radiation
therapy, new combinations of treatments, or new methods
such as gene therapy). See Taking Part in Clinical Trials: What
Cancer Patients Need to Know.
- Prevention
trials test new approaches,
such as medicines, vitamins, minerals, or other supplements
that doctors believe may lower the risk of a certain type
of cancer. These trials look for the best way to prevent
cancer in people who have never had cancer or to prevent
cancer from coming back or a new cancer occurring in people
who have already had cancer. See Understanding Prevention
Trials for additional information, as well as Taking Part
in Clinical Trials: Cancer Prevention Studies -- What Patients
Need to Know.
- Screening
trials test the best
way to find cancer, especially in its early stages. See
Understanding Screening Trials for additional information.
- Quality
of Life trials (also
called Supportive Care trials) explore ways to improve
comfort and quality of life for cancer patients. See Understanding
Supportive Care Trials for additional information.
Most clinical research that involves the testing of a new drug progresses
in an orderly series of steps, called phases. This allows researchers
to ask and
answer questions in a way that results in reliable information about the
drug and protects the patients. Clinical trials are usually classified
into one
of three phases:
- Phase
I trials: These first
studies in people evaluate how a new drug should be given
(by mouth, injected into the blood, or injected into the
muscle), how often, and what dose is safe. A Phase I trial
usually enrolls only a small number of patients, sometimes
as few as a dozen.
- Phase
II trials: A phase II
trial continues to test the safety of the drug, and begins
to evaluate how well the new drug works. Phase II studies
usually focus on a particular type of cancer.
- Phase
III trials: These studies
test a new drug, a new combination of drugs, or a
new surgical procedure in comparison to the current standard.
A participant
will usually be assigned to the standard group or
the new group at random (called randomization). Phase III trials
often enroll large numbers of people and may be conducted
at many doctors' offices, clinics, and cancer centers
nationwide.
The first two links on the left will take you directly
to stae supported sites with cancer information specific to New
Jersey. The links below those are to national sites where you will
have to enter seach words like "prostate cancer" and "New
Jersey" to find current local trials.
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