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Monthly Spotlights

Clinical Trials

Stefanie Sarantopoulos, M.D., Ph.D. with test tubes on ice.

Clinical trials are one way researchers analyze new medical treatments. In a trial, doctors test new drugs, therapies, and diagnostic procedures in patients in hopes of one day improving care. Cancer patients who participate in clinical trials help doctors judge if a new method will be a safe, more effective treatment for the future and replace the standard therapies used now. Nearly all cancer drugs administered today were once tested in patients through clinical trials.

• What is a clinical trial?

  Who can participate in a clinical trial? What information does a patient receive before treatment? How are individuals protected during the trial process? The answers to these and other important questions are in this overview of clinical trials.

• Entering a Clinical Trial: Is it Right for You?

  This video explains what clinical trials are so a patient can decide if one is the best choice for treatment.

Resources from Dana-Farber

Dana-Farber Clinical Trials

Adult patients can participate in clinical trials ranging from bone marrow transplants to brain tumors. Discover the breadth of clinical trials being offered through Dana-Farber and its affiliate hospitals.

Search the list of Dana-Farber's adult clinical trials

Pediatric Clinical Trials

The Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Care (DF/CHCC) program initiates multiple pediatric cancer clinical studies every year. DF/CHCC researchers conduct trials for all forms of childhood cancer, building the foundation for improved cancer therapies.

Learn more about pediatric clinical trials

Frequently Asked Questions about pediatric clinical trials

Search for a pediatric clinical trial

National Clinical Trials

If you can't find a trial at Dana-Farber that matches your treatment needs, consult this list of federally and privately supported clinical trials taking place in the United States and around the world.

Search national clinical trials

Personal Stories

• Paul Keane – Clinical trials offer hope for the future

  

  While Paul Keane hopes that participating in clinical trials will lead to a cure for his multiple myeloma, he takes some comfort in knowing his efforts will help others no matter the outcome. read more

• John Brooks – The risks and rewards of clinical trials

  

  John Brooks believes, without a doubt, that had it not been for the experimental drugs used in his clinical trials, as well as his faith, the loving support of his wife, family and friends, and their commitment to speak up, he would not be alive today. read more

News on clinical trials

• Sharing clinical trial results strongly favored by participants, though misunderstanding and anxiety are risks

  Dana-Farber researchers found that participants in a clinical trial of breast cancer treatment were overwhelmingly glad to learn the study's outcome, although some women were initially confused, and some became more anxious about their disease.

• Study asks if cancer patients enrolled in clinical trials have better outcomes than non-participants

  Does participating in a clinical trial directly improve a cancer patient's treatment outcome? Some oncologists contend that cancer patients who enroll in trials experience better outcomes than non-participants – a benefit known as a "trial effect."

• Cancer specialists differ over the purpose of clinical trials

  Clinical trial participants often believe the goal of the program is to benefit them rather than future patients, but less was known about how physicians view the purpose of clinical trials. Dana-Farber researchers surveyed 1,120 cancer physicians across the United States to determine what they think is the main societal purpose of the trials.

• Gleevec shrinks tumors in over half of patients with incurable stomach cancer

  In a clinical trial headed by a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigator, Gleevec shrank tumors in 53.7% of patients with advanced, inoperable forms of gastrointestinal stromal tumor.

Web Resources

Staff members at the Blum Patient and Family Resource Room have compiled a comprehensive list of online resources about clinical trials. Here are some of their recommended sites:

• Bone Marrow Transplantation
• Cancer Trials: National Cancer Institute
• Clinical Trials at NIH
• Clinical Trials Database (NCI) — Complementary Therapies
• Cancer Trials Support Unit
• Chemotherapy Care and Beyond

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