Monday, August 25, 2008

Risks Involved in Clinical Trials

Although clinical trials are designed to maximize patients. safety, certain risks do remain. It is important to ask about these risks as well as discuss them with your health care provider. A common concern of patients. is that they will be .guinea pigs. of researchers by participating in a clinical trial. It is important to realize that in most trials done, the experimental treatment is compared to the standard mesothelioma treatment. Even if a test patient does not receive the experimental drug or treatment, they will still receive standard therapy, usually at little or no cost. If a placebo is used instead of another treatment, you will be informed of this before the trial begins.

Clinical trials are used as a research tool for future treatments, and are not guaranteed to work. However, they do offer another treatment option, and provide patients with an opportunity to contribute to a future cure. For these reasons, the good from these trials usually outweighs any risk involved.

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