As a clinical trials specialist for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I guide blood cancer patients and their families through the process of determining whether a clinical trial might be right for them. I try to clarify any misconceptions people have about what is involved so they will be in a much better place to make a decision. This blog addresses some of the most common misunderstandings.
Considering a clinical trial for treatment of a blood cancer? Make sure you know the facts.
I Might Get a Placebo
A placebo is a substance that looks the same as the one used in the clinical trial but has no active ingredients. Most people think of a placebo as a ‘sugar pill.’ Placebos are almost never used in cancer clinical trials. In the rare instance a trial involves a placebo, you will be told before you agree to participate.
Patients enrolling in Phase I or Phase II trials all receive the experimental treatment. In Phase 3 trials, doctors are trying to learn if the experimental treatment is better than the proven or ‘standard of care’ treatment. In order to find out, half the participants will be given the standard of care treatment and the other half will be given the experimental treatment. The combined results of one group are then compared to the results of the other. Neither participants nor their doctors can choose which treatment they will receive.