TRAINING and EDUCATION
Patient Education
NAVIGATING CLINICAL TRIALS
A clinical trial is a controlled research study conducted by doctors and medical researchers
to improve the care and treatment of people who have hematologic disorders or cancer.
Taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice for some patients. There are
trials for patients at every stage of treatment as well as those in remission. Virtually all of
today’s standard treatments for hematology conditions and cancer are based on previous
clinical trials.
Results from research studies will help health-care professionals improve treatment
options, increase patients’ survival, and improve patients’ quality of life. Read below for more
information about how clinical trials work, the process for joining a clinical trial, and more.
This “Patient Education” tear sheet was produced in collaboration with The Leukemia &
Lymphoma Society (lls.org).
How a Clinical Trial Works
Clinical trials are conducted under rigorous guidelines to
determine safe and effective forms of treatment. Before a
clinical trial begins, a new therapy is often developed and
tested in a laboratory, then tested in animals. If the early
research (preclinical trials) demonstrates that the therapy
is safe and effective, a carefully planned and monitored
clinical trial of the drug or treatment will then be con-
ducted in humans.
Advances in treatment for blood cancers depend on
clinical trials of new therapies or new therapy combina-
tions. Different types of cancer clinical trials are designed
to develop and test new and better ways to:
• diagnose and treat cancer in people
Patients in clinical trials are watched closely by their
doctors, and by other members of their medical team, to
ensure their safety. Patients receive a lot of attention and
excellent cancer care. The trial can be changed or stopped
if there is a problem. Patients who take part in a clinical trial
also have the option to leave the trial at any time.
All clinical trials follow strict ethical principles with a
detailed action plan (protocol) that specifies the:
• purpose of the study
• number of people who will be recruited
• group of patients eligible to participate in the study
(e.g., patients with a particular type of hematologic
cancer and general health requirements)
• prevent or relieve treatment side effects
• help prevent a return of cancer
• improve comfort and quality of life for people with
cancer
Are Clinical Trials Safe?
• medical tests required
The Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society (LLS) is committed to
providing free information,
resources, and support to those
with leukemia, Hodgkin and non-
Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma,
myelodysplastic syndromes, and
other blood cancers. LLS offers a
comprehensive array of services
to patients and families touched
by blood cancers, including:
• One-on-one support from LLS
Information Specialists, who
can also conduct individual
clinical trial searches (1-800-
955-4572)
• Financial assistance
• Patient education programs
• Online chats
• Peer-to-peer support and
family support groups
• Free publications and other
resources
Visit lls.org to access these and other
resources. For more information on
clinical trials, visit lls.org/treatment/
types-of-treatment/clinical-trials.
LLS provides personalized clinical
trial navigation when appropriate.
For more information, please con-
tact an LLS Information Specialist
between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. (EST)
Monday through Friday.
• number of follow-up visits required
• type of participant information that will be gathered
• event or outcome of the study that researchers will be
able to measure (endpoint), such as response rates or
time to progression of disease, toxicity, and quality of life
Clinical trials are designed to give patients the safest,
potentially most effective clinical therapies.
Patients enrolled in cancer clinical trials are never
treated as “guinea pigs.” In fact, patients are given either
the best treatment currently available or a new and pos-
sibly more effective therapy.
• treatments that participants will receive, including
the dosage and dosing schedule (how often a drug
will be administered)
Information and Support
from The Leukemia &
Lymphoma Society
ASHClinicalNews.org
ASH Clinical News
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