About cancer clinical trials
Extensive options to enroll in clinical trials
At Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, you have access to the latest in treatment and technology through clinical trials. Cutting-edge research at Mayo Clinic is changing the way cancer is diagnosed and treated across the globe.
Cancer clinical trials, also called clinical studies or research studies, guide researchers in understanding how new and advanced treatment options can improve care for you and other people with cancer. Clinical trials help physician-scientists test new and better ways to detect, control and treat cancer.
Clinical trials are an important path to consider no matter where you are in your cancer journey — whether you've received a new diagnosis or you've been in treatment for years.
Hundreds of clinical trials are available now at Mayo Clinic's three campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota and at Mayo Clinic Health System sites in the Midwest. You might even be able to participate in a trial from your own home.
At Mayo Clinic, you also have access to clinical trials through agreements with the National Cancer Institute, the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, the Minnesota Cancer Clinical Trials Network and other groups.
Choosing to participate in a clinical trial is an important decision. Talk to your doctor or other healthcare professional about finding a clinical trial that's right for you.
Clinical Trials Referral Office
855-776-0015 (toll-free)
Benefits to you and future generations
Clinical trials have many potential benefits, including:
- Gaining earlier access to new treatments.
- Getting a new treatment option when other treatments haven't worked.
- Not having to pay for the experimental treatment or procedure.
A clinical trial might be the first choice for someone with a rare type of cancer, not the last resort.
In addition, your participation in a trial also might help others.
The more people who participate in clinical trials, the faster medicines, treatments and lifestyle changes can be tested and the quicker people can get better care. Clinical trials can help identify better treatments for future generations.
Clinical trials can even help lower the cost of medicine in the future.
How a clinical trial works
During a clinical trial, participants receive specific interventions and researchers determine if those interventions are safe and effective. These interventions are typically compared to the standard of care for a condition, so everyone in the trial still receives necessary medical care.
Interventions studied in clinical trials include:
- New medicines or new combinations of medicines.
- New medical procedures.
- New surgical techniques.
- New medical devices.
- New ways to use existing treatments.
- Lifestyle or behavior changes.
Phases of a clinical trial
Experimental treatments usually go through two or three phases of a clinical trial before they become standard treatments available to everyone.
The early phases of cancer clinical trials are designed to study the safety of the new treatment. Later phases determine the effectiveness of the new treatment while continuing to study safety.
A phase 1 cancer clinical trial, also called an early-phase clinical trial, determines safe dosage levels and safe methods of delivering a new treatment. An early-phase clinical trial might be the first time an experimental cancer medicine or intervention is used with people.
A phase 2 cancer clinical trial evaluates the effectiveness of the cancer treatment and monitors side effects. Side effects are monitored in all phases of clinical trials, but they are a special focus in phase 2.
A phase 3 cancer clinical trial compares the new treatment to the standard treatment.
A phase 4 cancer clinical trial continues to assess the long-term safety and effectiveness of a treatment. A phase 4 clinical trial is conducted after approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Types of cancer clinical trials
Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center offers several types of clinical trials:
- Prevention. These trials explore ways to reduce the risk of developing cancer. Participants can include people who have not had cancer, those at higher risk of cancer or those who have had cancer in the past. These trials might test medicines, vaccines, vitamins, or lifestyle changes such as exercising or quitting smoking.
- Screening. These trials test new ways to find cancer in your body.
- Treatment. These trials test new therapies, medicines, surgical approaches and integrative medicine, including wellness treatments such as massage and meditation.
- Quality of life. These trials focus on the comfort and quality of life for people with cancer and survivors of cancer. These trials research new ways to minimize the side effects of cancer and its treatments.
- Genetics. These trials explore inherited family genes and traits that might affect cancer risk or outcomes.
Protecting safety and privacy
Mayo Clinic is committed to protecting you and your safety.
Each clinical trial requires informed consent from the participant. This consent ensures that you understand key facts and potential risks about the research study before you enroll.
The risks are different for each trial. A clinical trial may:
- Take extra time and effort.
- Have side effects.
- Not be effective.
Measures are in place to help ensure safety for participants:
- All clinical research at Mayo Clinic is reviewed and approved by our Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB is a committee of healthcare professionals with different types of expertise. The committee reviews all parts of the clinical trial to ensure protection of your rights, privacy and welfare.
- Other groups also monitor the safety and progress of clinical trials.
- U.S. federal rules help ensure that clinical research is done in a safe and ethical manner.
Questions to ask when considering a clinical trial
You should know as much as possible before agreeing to participate in a clinical trial. Discuss questions with your healthcare professional, including:
- What is the purpose?
- Why might this study be right for me?
- What tests or treatments are involved?
- What are the benefits, risks or inconveniences?
- Will I have to pay for anything? Does my insurance cover participation?
- How long will the study last?
- What phase is the study?
- What information will I get about the results?
