• Adjuvant Trials These are conducted to determine if an additional therapy—the adjuvant therapy—will
improve the chance for cure in patients at risk for recurrence after the surgical removal of all visible disease. At
one time, the standard therapy for breast cancer was surgery alone. Adjuvant trials of chemotherapy in women
with breast cancer, in which one group received surgery and the other received surgery plus chemotherapy,
showed that surgery plus chemotherapy is better than surgery alone. Surgery plus chemotherapy is now the
standard treatment for many women with breast cancer.
Taking Part in a Clinical Trial Clinical trials offer patients the most up-to-date care available. Patients who take part in clinical trials have the first opportunity to benefit from new research and can make a very important contribution to medical science. The medical requirements for taking part depend on many factors. Patients who want to know more about clinical trials should talk with their doctors and ask them to print out PDQ's information on the design of clinical trials.
Patients should learn as much as they can about the trials before making up their minds about participating. A cancer specialist is often the best person to counsel a patient about the selection of a standard treatment option or a clinical trial.
Asking the Right Questions The important questions for anyone considering a clinical trial include:
