Investigational Therapy
Investigational Therapy
An investigational therapy is a therapy that is in the process of being evaluated for use to treat a particular disease or condition. Investigational therapies are evaluated in humans using carefully controlled research studies, called clinical research trials. The purpose of a clinical research trial is to determine whether an investigational therapy is safe and effective in treating humans for a particular disease or condition. This includes looking at the benefits as well as the risks of the investigational therapy.
If you decide to participate in a prostate cancer clinical research trial, you may obtain expert medical care by leading doctors in the field of cancer research and may gain access to new drugs or treatments not available to other patients.
Also, your general health will be closely monitored and you will be evaluated for any side effects you may experience from the investigational therapy. You may be one of the first to benefit from a drug if the treatment is found to be effective and gain personal satisfaction in knowing that you are contributing to the advancement of cancer research. However, there are also risks with participating in a clinical research trial.
If you participate in a clinical research trial, you may experience side effects to the investigational therapy. You may receive a therapy that may be less effective than standard therapy. In addition, you may receive a therapy that may be beneficial to others but ineffective for you. Also, you may receive a placebo (sugar pill), but this does not apply to all clinical research trials.
You may want to discuss participation in a clinical research trial with your physician. Your doctor can help you determine if a clinical research trial is right for you.
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