Finding out about current clinical trials

It can be difficult to find a trial to take part in. Our cancer support specialists| can give you information about trials. We aim to give accurate information about the trials currently available, and can search on several reliable databases, both in the UK and abroad.

You can also search for trials through the websites below:

• Cancer Research UK - www.cancerhelp.org.uk
• National Cancer Research Network - www.ncrn.org.uk

If you would like to take part in a clinical trial, you should discuss this with the doctors or nurses who are treating you. They may know of a trial that would be suitable for you. However, some hospitals do not have the facilities or expertise to take part in some trials. So to take part you may have to travel to a different hospital.

If you have been invited to take part in a clinical trial, you may be introduced to a research nurse. They can tell you all about the trial and will be able to answer your questions.

Criteria

Clinical trials always have criteria which describe the patients who can take part in the study. Criteria often include:

• the age a person needs to be to take part in the trial
• the stage of the cancer (where it is in the body and whether it has spread)
• whether the person has had previous treatment
• appropriate blood test or scan results
• physical fitness
• whether the person has other medical conditions.

It's important to remember that there may not be a trial which is suitable for you.

Before you go into a trial you will probably need to have various tests, to check that having the trial treatment will not harm you, and make sure that you fit the criteria.

Sometimes there may be a suitable trial in a hospital a long way away from where you live. In this situation, your doctor would have to contact the hospital running the trial, to give staff your details and refer you if appropriate. You may need to travel to the hospital frequently, perhaps every week, for blood tests and to check for any side effects. So remember to ask your doctor or nurse about how much time you would need to take part in the trial. You should also think about whether you would be able to do all the travelling that might be needed.