Journal of Clinical Trials
Open Access

The Integral Role of Clinical Trials in Medical Advancements

Lamyaa Albakr^{* *}Correspondence: Lamyaa Albakr, Department of Pharmaceutics, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Email:

Author info »

Description

Clinical trials are a important part of medical research, as they provide an essential way to test new treatments and therapies for safety and efficacy. The primary purpose of clinical trials is to evaluate the efficacy of a new medicine or treatment method, determine potential side effects, and understand how it works in the body. In addition to pharmaceuticals, clinical trials can also assess new devices, surgical procedures, lifestyle interventions, and other healthcare products. Before any drug or treatment can be approved by government agencies like the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), it must first go through a series of clinical trials [1].

Due to their invaluable contribution to medical development, clinical trials are highly regulated by both the government and independent ethics committees that protect the rights of participants. Clinical research requires strict adherence to guidelines for patient safety and data protection regulations. These measures ensure that the results of the trials are reliable and accurate.

Clinical trials are conducted in phases so that scientists can evaluate different doses or methods of administration if needed. This helps them gain a more comprehensive understanding of how effective a drug is in treating a certain condition or disease in humans. After each phase is completed, researchers review the data collected from participants for any unexpected adverse events or results that may signal danger or benefit from using the drug or medical product tested during the trial [2-5].

The data gathered from these studies eventually allow scientists to make informed decisions about whether or not a particular drug should be approved for public use. Clinical trials play an important role in advancing medical research because they help identify effective treatments while protecting patients from potentially dangerous ones. By participating in clinical trials, people can help improve public health outcomes while contributing to scientific knowledge about how diseases develop and progress [6].

Clinical trials are essential for medical research and the development of new drugs and treatments. They help to identify potential risks and benefits associated with treatments, as well as their effectiveness in treating or preventing disease. Clinical trials can be divided into three main types: interventional, observational and diagnostic [7-9].

Interventional clinical trials involve a treatment being tested on volunteers who usually receive either the treatment or a placebo. This type of trial is often conducted to test the safety and effectiveness of drugs or medical devices. These tests allow researchers to learn more about how a drug or device works in humans, as well as any potential side effects it may cause.

Observational clinical trials are non-interventional studies that observe participants in order to gain insight into health outcomes related to a particular condition. These studies help researchers understand how lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise, may affect a person’s risk for certain diseases. They also provide information on how certain medications may interact with each other and what impact they have on health outcomes [10].

Finally, diagnostic clinical trials are designed to evaluate existing tests or treatments for diagnosis or detection of diseases or other conditions. Diagnostic tests can range from simple blood tests to more complex imaging techniques such as MRI scans. These tests help doctors detect diseases earlier so that they can be treated more effectively.

References

1. Orr RK. The impact of prophylactic axillary node dissection on breast cancer survival-A Bayesian meta-analysis. Ann Surg Oncol. 1999;6:109–116.

   [Google Scholar] [Pubmed]

2. Fisher B, Wolmark N, Redmond C, Deutsch M, Fisher ER. Findings from NSABP protocol no. B-04: Comparison of radical mastectomy with alternative treatments. II. The clinical and biologic significance of medial-central breast cancers. J Can. 1981;48:1863-1872.

   [Google Scholar] [Pubmed]

3. Hara T, Iwadate M, Tachibana K, Waguri S, Takenoshita S, Hamada N. Metastasis of breast cancer cells to the bone, lung, and lymph nodes promotes resistance to ionizing radiation. Strahlenther Onkol. 2017;193(10):848-855.

   [Google Scholar]

4. Li M, Zhao LM, Li SL, Li J, Gao B. Differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs identified by NGS analysis in colorectal cancer patients. Cancer Med. 2018;7:4650-4664.

   [Cross ref] [Google scholar] [Pub Med]

5. Liu GJ, Wang YJ, Yue M, Zhao LM, Guo YD, Liu YP, et al. High expression of TCN1 is a negative prognostic biomarker and can predict neoadjuvant chemosensitivity of colon cancer. Scientific Reports. 2020;10.

   [Cross ref] [Google scholar] [Pub Med]

6. Wang JJ. An examination of the theory and practices of planar near-field measurement. IEEE Trans Antennas Propag. 1988; 36(6):746-53.

   [Crossref], [Google Scholar]

7. WHO. Expert neeting on evaluation of traditional chinese medicine in the treatment of COVID-19. Geneva: WHO. 2022.

   [Google Scholar]

8. Hu K, Guan WJ, Bi Y, Zhang W, Li L, Zhang B, et al. Efficacy and safety of lianhuaqingwen capsules, a repurposed chinese herb, in patients with coronavirus disease 2019: a multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial. Phytomedicine. 2021; 85:153242.

   [Crossref], [Google Scholar], [Pub Med]

9. Chan XHS, O'Connor CJ, Martyn E, Clegg AJ, Choy BJK, Soares AL, et al. Reducing broad-spectrum antibiotic use in intensive care unit between first and second waves of COVID-19 did not adversely affect mortality. J Hosp Infect. 2022;124:37-46.

   [Crossref] [Google Scholar] [PubMed]

10. Bartlett AH, Makhni S, Ruokis S, Selling MK, Hall L, Umscheid CA, et al. Use of clinical pathways integrated into the electronic health record to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2022:1-27.

    [Crossref] [Google Scholar] [PubMed]