Clinical Trials Expand Patients’ Treatment Options

(Family Features) For health conditions with no cure, effective treatments are the next best option. However, in order to make medical interventions including new drugs, devices, vaccines and lifestyle modifications available, they must undergo a thorough evaluation process to demonstrate their benefits. Clinical trials are an important part of this process because they provide data for researchers on the effectiveness of various treatments and interventions. However, many myths about clinical trials deter people from enrolling. In fact, more than 70% of clinical trials are delayed at least one month due to unfulfilled enrollment, according to the “Journal of Medical Internet Research.” Delays create barriers to the drug approval process and result in fewer available treatments for chronic conditions like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The experts at the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation offer these facts about the importance of clinical trials: More patients can benefit from clinical trials While hundreds of participants may take part in a trial, the results can lead to new care and treatment options for an entire patient community.   Clinical trials lead to better and improved medications. For a new treatment to be approved, it needs to demonstrate a meaningful benefit to patients, such as improved outcomes, treating a wider range of symptoms, fewer side effects or more convenience for patients.   They provide information. Clinical trials provide evidence of a treatment’s effectiveness and safety that can be used to guide patient care.   Trials test safety and efficacy. Clinical trials are conducted in four phases. During the first phase, the main objective is to assess the safety of a new treatment. Experimental treatments only advance to the next stages if they pass certain safety and efficacy standards . They help prevent bias. In a randomized controlled trial, the effects of treatment with a new drug are compared with that of a control group – either a placebo (a treatment that looks identical to the new drug but contains no active medicine) or the current standard of care. Treatment assignments are “randomized,” which means neither the trial doctors nor the participants choose which treatment each participant will receive. How Clinical Trials Work Before a clinical trial begins, a research team develops a clinical trial protocol. This is the research plan that describes who can join the trial, which treatments the participants will receive, what questions the researchers will try to answer, how long the trial will last and how participant privacy and safety will be protected. Conducting clinical research relies on volunteer trial participants. Those interested in joining a clinical trial meet with clinical research professionals to discuss the trial, treatments, eligibility requirements and expectations. Joining a Trial If you are interested in participating in a clinical trial, do some research. Your doctor may not be aware of or proactively tell you about trials you may be eligible to join. If you find a clinical trial you may be interested in joining, discuss the trial with your doctor and other health care professionals on your research team. Foundations supporting chronic conditions can be a good source of information. For example, you can learn more about trials affecting individuals with inflammatory bowel disease by exploring the Clinical Trials Community at crohnscolitisfoundation.org.