What is a placebo?
Are placebos used in all studies?
Why are placebos used in clinical trials?
What if there is an emergency and a doctor needs to know what medication I am on?
What do they mean by ‘randomized’?
Do all clinical trials use Randomization?
Why is randomization used in clinical trials?
How will I know what side effects could happen?
Are these the only side effects that I could have?
What happens if I have a side effect?
What if I don’t want to be in the study, is my Doctor going to be upset?
Useful links
What is a placebo?
A placebo is sometimes referred to as a ‘sugar pill’. It is a product that has been created to look like a type of medication or agent but that does not contain the ingredient that is responsible for the effect of the medication or agent.
Are placebos used in all studies?
No. Placebos are not used in all clinical trials.
There are only certain types of clinical trials that are allowed to use a placebo:
- When there is no proven treatment available for a group of patients. In this case, taking a placebo is similar to receiving the standard treatment.
- When a condition being treated is not severe and the use of a placebo will not cause increased harm to the patient.
Why are placebos used in clinical trials?
Placebos allow researchers to see if a medication or agent is actually working, or if the trial results are just by chance.
What if there is an emergency and a doctor needs to know what medication I am on?
If ever there was an emergency, the research team is able to find out whether the clinical trial patient was taking the placebo or the study medication.
What do they mean by ‘randomized’?
Randomization assigns patients into a treatment group by chance. The research team is not involved in deciding what type of treatment the patient is going to receive during the clinical trial.
Do all clinical trials use Randomization?
No. Not all clinical trials are randomized. Clinical trials that have more than one treatment group may use randomization to decide which treatment a patient will receive.
Why is randomization used in clinical trials?
Randomization is used in clinical trials to make sure that all patients are treated equally. Randomization ensures that all patients have the same chance of being on any of the treatment groups in the study.
How will I know what side effects could happen?
The Informed Consent Form will list the side effects, or adverse events, that may happen while on the clinical trial and what the chance is of experiencing the events listed. Patients are given this information before they decide to get involved in the clinical trial and they are also informed if there is a change to this information.
Are these the only side effects that I could have?
No. Unexpected side effects can happen during the clinical trial. The Informed Consent Form will list the adverse events that are known, but that does not mean that other adverse events could not happen.
What happens if I have a side effect?
If a clinical trial patient experiences a side effect while on a clinical trial, they will receive the necessary medical attention needed.
What if I don’t want to be in the study, is my Doctor going to be upset?
No. Doctors and research teams want to make sure that patients are told about clinical trials, because it is a treatment option, but they are very understanding of a patient’s right to decide. Even if a patient chooses to be involved in a clinical trial, they can always change their mind and this decision will not negatively affect their medical care at the hospital. This is one of the rights of a research patient.
Useful links
Ontario Cancer Trials Website: This website includes a database of cancer clinical trials in Ontario that patients, their families and friends can search. There is also general information about clinical trials on this website. The website is http://ontariocancertrials.ca
- Canadian Cancer Society: The Canadian Cancer Society can provide patients, their families and friends with information about cancer and cancer research. The society has a website at www.cancer.ca. They can also be reached at 1-888-939-3333.
- National Institutes of Health: This website includes a database of clinical trials that are running for many diseases and conditions. This database includes clinical trials that are running across North America and parts of Europe. The website is www.clinicaltrials.gov
- Health Canada: The Health Canada website has information about different drugs and health products. This includes information about how clinical trials are regulated in Canada. The website is www.hc-sc.gc.ca.