Dispelling Clinical Trial Myths


Myth One: Cancer clinical trials are for people who have no other options.

Fact: Trials are often another option that offers a treatment plan that may better address the patient's needs and continue their quality of life.



Myth Two: I will receive inferior treatment

Fact: Clinical trials often are an option for a different and possibly better or more effective treatment.



Myth Three: I am a human guinea pig

Fact: Institutional Review Boards comprised of local physicians, nurses, ethics and legal experts, and community leaders must approve all clinical trials and the informed consent documents before they are approved for people to participate in. These boards have the responsibility to assure that there are no unreasonable risks, compared to the benefits to the human subject. Most clinical trials testing new drug treatments have already been tested in labs in animals and humans.

Myth Four: Trials always include a placebo or "sugar" pill

Fact: Placebos are used only when there is no standard care treatment already available. Placebos are rarely used in cancer clinical trials. They are never used in the place of the standard care treatment already given. Any clinical trial that involves a test group that will receive no treatment must inform participants in advance that the trial has a placebo arm.

For more information, a suggested reading is, "Taking Part in Clinical Trials: What Cancer Patients Need to Know" by the National Institute of Health, National Cancer Institute at http://cancertrials.nci.nih.gov. You can obtain this publication free by calling 1-800-4CANCER, toll-free.