• If you do enter a study, doctors and
nurses will carefully follow your
response to treatment throughout the
research.
• If your doctor suspects that a
treatment may be harming you, you
will be taken out of the study right
away. You may then receive other
standard treatment.
• You have the right to leave a study at
any time.
Before deciding to take part in a clinical
trial, you must give informed consent.
This means that you must be given all
the facts about the study. These include
details about the treatments and tests
you may receive and about possible risks
and benefi ts. You must sign an informed
consent form before you can enter a
study. Ask your doctor and the staff any
questions you may have before signing
the consent form. If you would like more
information about clinical trials, go to
clinicaltrials.gov.
Clinical Trials
A clinical trial is a research study
conducted with patients to evaluate
a new treatment or a change in a
treatment that is already in use. The
goal of this research is to fi nd new and
better ways to treat cancer and to help
cancer patients. Before a new treatment
is offered, it is carefully studied in the
laboratory and needs to show promise
of good results. Clinical trials help
researchers fi nd out if new or changed
treatments are safe and effective for
patients.
Being part of a clinical trial is voluntary.
You may want to or be asked to enter a
clinical trial. Learn as much as you can
about the trial before you decide to be a
part of it.
Patients take part in clinical trials for
many reasons. One reason may be a
hope of feeling better or of living longer.
Patients often want to take part in a
research effort that may help others in
the future.
Every clinical trial has an action plan,
called a protocol, which explains how
the study will work. This is reviewed
by an independent group to ensure that
the research will not expose patients to
extreme or unethical risks. Each study’s
protocol describes what is required for
patients to take part in the study.
It is important that you know your rights
and protections with clinical trials:
• Taking part in a clinical trial (study) is
up to you.
• You will receive the same quality of
care whether or not you take part in a
study.
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