|  | You may be asked to take part in a clinical trial if there is a suitable one running at the time of your treatment and your specialist thinks that you will benefit from it. The purpose of trials is to improve treatments and reduce side effects. They are usually called randomised trials because patients are allocated to one of the planned treatments at random in order to compare the best currently available treatment with a new treatment. The main advantages of being in a trial are that:
 | You may receive a new treatment that might prove to be better than standard treatment (although bear in mind there may not be any difference) |
| You are monitored very closely to assess how you respond to treatment |
Whatever course of treatment you receive you can be reassured that it is effective against your disease. It is very unlikely that you will be worse off if you are in a trial.
Clinical trials follow protocols that have been reviewed by independent ethical research committees, which include representatives of the public as well as doctors and scientists.
The outcome of the trial enables doctors to identify the best treatment for a disease and thus helps improve medical care for other patients in the future.The improvements in treatment of blood cancer in recent years are the result of previous patients joining clinical trials. |
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| | If you want to find out more about what a clinical trial involves you can read our booklet called
If you want to read more scientific information about a specific clinical trial try MRC Clinical Trials Unit
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