Why are clinical trials important?
To use any new drug for a particular disease when there is no treatment or when there is existing treatment, It is important to prove that the new drug is better than either no treatment or the existing treatment in terms of its efficacy and side effects. If new drug has good efficacy in treating the disease and has less side effects it will be then approved by regulatory authorities to use it in regular clinical practices. So to prove safety and efficacy of drug it is important to do clinical trials
Should all patients be enrolled in clinical trials?
No, there is no need to enrol all the cancer patients in the clinical trials. There are established standard treatments in majority of the cancers. In such instances there is no need for enrolment into a clinical trial. However, when there multiple recurrences and therapeutic options are exhausted it is prudent to know about the ongoing clinical trials and enrol if possible so that cancer patient can get the benefit of trial drug
How to enroll in a clinical trial?
When you meet your oncologist you can discuss with all the available treatment options and available clinicals trials. Depending on the disease stage, recurrence, inclusion and exclusion criteria you can enrol into the trial.
