Clinical Trials
Not sure what clinical trials are? Clinical trials are carefully controlled research studies conducted by doctors to improve the care and treatment of patients. The goal of clinical trials is to develop therapies that are more effective against the disease with fewer adverse side effects. Treatments proven safe and effective in clinical trials are usually approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as a standard treatment.
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Because we want to be sure that our visitors find the most relevant resources, we've listed these organizations in order of relevancy from most specifically relevant to most generally relevant to the topic of this page.
ClinicalTrials.gov
Population served: Anyone interested in clinical trials worldwide
ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the National Institutes of Health, is a registry of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted worldwide. This web-based tool provides information about a trial's purpose, who may participate, locations and phone numbers for more details.
ClinicalTrials.gov provides four ways to search for trials:
- Basic search - using a word or phrase, such as the name of a medical condition or intervention
- Advanced search - providing detailed information such as phase of the trial, specific treatment agent, patient age
- Studies by topic - allows a search to be done by selecting a specific topic area such as drug intervention, sponsor, location, dietary supplement
- Studies on map - allows the user to search for trials by location on a world map
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Contact: (800) 422-6237
Population served: Anyone in the United States interested in cancer information
NCI is a component of the National Institutes of Health and is the federal government's principal agency for cancer research and training.
- Provides an online search tool for cancer-specific trials
- Offers summaries that highlight recently released results from cancer clinical trials
- Provides education materials about clinical trials (structuring, phases, eligibility criteria)
The Max Foundation (TMF)
Contact: (888) 462-9368
Population served: People diagnosed with blood cancer worldwide, with a focus on developing countries
TMF helps connect blood cancer patients to treatment options through a network of in-country, on-the-ground advocates known as MaxStations.
- Provides clinical trial guidance by telephone and email
- Identifies local partner non-governmental organizations with resources
CenterWatch
Contact: (866) 219-3440
Population served: Anyone interested in clinical trials worldwide
CenterWatch is a publishing company that provides information services used by patients, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, contract research organizations and research centers involved in clinical research around the world. It provides patients and their advocates with a variety of information services and educational materials on clinical research.
- Provides a listing of trials organized by disease type
- Offers an overview of what a clinical trial is and how the phases of a trial are structured
- Provides consumer-friendly information on FDA-approved prescription and over-the-counter drugs and supplements available through pharmacies in the United States
