For people with cancer, participation in a clinical trial can mean access to promising treatments, and it can also help advance scientific discoveries that benefit others.
It’s estimated that 7.1% of people under treatment for cancer in the United States participate in a clinical trial, and more than one in five of those enroll in a trial at a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center like the University of Colorado Cancer Center.
Yet a survey shows that 41% of U.S. adults don’t know what a clinical trial is – and that percentage is higher among some underserved communities.
To answer questions about clinical trials and why you might want to consider participating in one, we turned to Wells Messersmith, MD, associate director for clinical services at the CU Cancer Center and head of the Division of Medical Oncology at the CU Department of Medicine.