How do I find a trial? Who do I ask?
There are several ways that people find out about participating in clinical trials. Most people who enter clinical trials were referred by their doctor. Listed below are organizations that post information about clinical trials.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
The NCI sponsors most government-funded cancer clinical trials. The NCI maintains a list of active studies (those currently enrolling patients), as well as some privately funded studies, in the Physician Data Query (PDQ) database. You can access the list via their website at
www.cancer.gov/clinialtrials
or by calling 1-800-4-CANCER.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The NIH maintains an even larger database of clinical trials at
www.clinicaltrials.gov
, but not all of these are cancer specific.
Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups (CCCG)
The CCCG provides a system for matching patients with cancer studies being conducted at member institutions on their website,
www.cancertrialshelp.org
. Their database includes most of the government-funded cancer clinical trials in the NCI and NIH lists, and some privately-funded studies as well.
CenterWatch
CenterWatch is a publishing and information services company that maintains a list of both industry-sponsored and government-funded clinical trials for cancer and other diseases. You can access their website at
www.centerwatch.com
.
Major cancer centers (and even some community hospitals and doctors’ offices) usually offer lists on their Websites of the clinical trials being conducted there. You can find the major cancer centers closest to you on the American Cancer Society website at
www.cancer.org
Private companies, such as pharmaceutical or biotechnology firms, may list the studies they are sponsoring on their Websites or offer toll-free numbers to call. Some of these firms also offer matching systems for the studies they sponsor. This can be helpful if you are interested in research on a particular experimental treatment and know the company developing it.