What are clinical trial phases?
Clinical trials take place in phases. For a treatment to become standard (widely accepted), it must first successfully pass through a series of phases. The early phases make sure the treatment is safe. Later phases show if it works better than the standard treatment. You do not have to take part in all phases.
Purpose:
- To find a safe dose
- To decide how the new treatment should be given
- To see how the new treatment affects the human body and fights cancer
Purpose:
- To determine if the new treatment has an effect on a certain cancer
- To see how the new treatment affects the human body and fights cancer
Purpose:
- To compare the new treatment (or new use of a treatment) with the current standard treatment
There are also very early (phase 0) and later (phase 4) phases of clinical trials, but these trials are less common.
- Phase 0 trials are very small trials that help researchers decide if a new drug should be tested in a phase 1 trial.
- Phase 4 trials look at long-term safety and effectiveness. They take place after a new treatment has been approved and is on the market.