What is a Clinical Trial?

Clinical trials are organized programs to determine the safety and effectiveness of a new drug or therapy. As such, they provide unique opportunities for many patients who have not been helped with standard methods of treatment.

The patients in a clinical trial are among the first to receive new research treatments before they are widely available. Yet, how a treatment will work for a patient participating in a particular clinical trial can't be known ahead of time. Even standard treatments, although effective for many patients, do not carry sure benefits for everyone. Patients should decide to take part in a clinical trial only after they understand the possible benefits and risks.

Clinical trials are not open to everyone. Each trial protocol (detailed plan) will specify such requirements as the type of brain tumor under investigation, the age and general health of individuals who may participate in the trial, and other treatments that potential participants should have received.