Clinical trials offer alternative treatment options for many people with cancer. It is a research study that involves people. Before a new drug gets regulatory approval for clinical use on patient, it has to go through a very long and strict process with many stages as illustrated in the table below. All drugs that are currently approved and routinely used in the treatment of cancer have undergone clinical trials.
All clinical studies that are conducted have been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee at each medical institution. This is to ensure that the studies are ethical and appropriate, so that patients’ interests are not at stake.
Drug development pipeline
(Source: PhRMA Profile Pharmaceutical Industry 2010)
Cancer treatment clinical trials are approved research studies that are designed to test new drugs, drug combinations or approaches of treating cancer.
Clinical trials are integral to cancer drug development and the establishment of new treatment standards. It is through cancer clinical trials that researchers are able to determine whether new treatments are safe, effective and result in better outcomes than current treatments.
When you take part in a clinical trial, you contribute to the overall knowledge about cancer and help in the development of improved cancer treatments.
What happens during a clinical trial? The following flow-chart shows the different steps and procedures involved in a clinical trial.
Informed consent is a process during which we will provide potential trial participants like yourself with information about the clinical trial(s) for which you are eligible. This process is intended to protect you as you will be provided with all the information relevant to the clinical trial.
As a trial participant, you will have the following rights:
All clinical studies that are conducted have been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee at each medical institution to ensure that the studies are ethical and appropriate, so that patients’ interests are not at stake.
Click here for current clinical trials.
For more information on cancer, please call the Cancer Helpline at (65) 6225 5655 or email cancerhelpline@nccs.com.sg
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Clinical Trials Pamphlet (Malay)
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