Clinical trials are research involving people to bring new treatments. These are important ways through which doctors find better treatment. For tomorrow’s cure, today’s research is important. Doctors are engaged in cancer clinical trials to bring hope and quality of life to cancer patients by doing research.
Why clinical trials for cancer are designed
These are designed for finding new ways:-
- For treatment of cancer
- To detect and diagnose
- For prevention of cancer
- To manage cancer symptoms and treatment’s side effect
Clinical trials are the last step in a lengthy process that starts from lab research. Before the use of new treatment on people in trials, researchers tried to understand its effect of it on cancer cells and animals in the lab. They work for many years to find solutions. In addition, they try to configure the side effects that may be caused by the new treatment.
Types of clinical trials
There are four of them. These are:-
- Clinical trials for new treatment – Most clinical trials belong to this type. In these trials, researchers study new drugs, new treatments, and new ways of performing surgery and radiation therapy.
- Clinical trials for symptoms and side effects – Doctors constantly try to find new ways to make cancer patients feel better. For this, they work on side effects and symptoms through clinical trials.
- Clinical trials for prevention and detection of cancer – To reduce the risk of cancer in people, doctors endeavor to prevent cancer with the help of clinical trials. Besides, they try to find ways to detect cancer easily and in an early stage. Doing treatments at an early stage is more beneficial. Studies in these trials include – How this type of cancer can be prevented from people? Can this cancer be passed on from parents to their children, or is it inherited?
How it works
Every clinical trial is followed by a particular set of rules, also called protocols. Each trial has its own protocols, however, it should always contain:
- Who may and who may not participate in the study trial
- When, how frequently, and how much do you receive the clinical trial treatment
- When you undergo diagnostic and surgical procedures
- Length of the clinical trial
- How medical professionals will evaluate various therapies in the clinical trial
Why clinical trials are important
People are now surviving longer thanks to cancer treatments that have been effective in past clinical trials. Clinical trials are how doctors decide whether new treatments are safe, efficient, and outperform existing ones. Clinical trials are essential to developing new cancer treatments.