Clinical Trials: an overview
A Clinical Trial is a carefully planned experiment involving human subjects, which attempts to answer a defined set of questions with respect to a treatment. Clinical trials are used to evaluate the differences betwen interventions in areas such as:
- Drug development
- Combinations of existing drugs
- Dosing schedules and route administration
- Care methods
- Educational methods
Clinical trials are split into three phases, as outlined in the following links:
Useful websites:
- An overview on Phase I, II and III trials are given on the Cancer Research UK clinical trials website.
- More detailed information on Phase I, II and III trials may be found at the UK National Cancer Institute site.
- The website of the UK Medical Research Council is well worth a look, especially for their guidelines.
- Also see the website of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).
