Clinical Trials - Florida Cancer Support Network

Clinical Trials for Cancer Patients

The National Cancer Institute defines a clinical trial as “a type of research study that tests how well new medical approaches work in people. These studies test new methods of screening, prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of a disease. Also called clinical study.”1

There are four general types of clinical trials. Each type of trial is designed to answer different research questions and will help researchers learn things that can help people in the future. Types of clinical trials include:

General Types of Clinical Trials

Screening Trials

The goal of cancer screening trials is to test ways to find cancer before it causes symptoms, when it may be easier to treat.

Treatment Trials

These trials test treatments or new ways of using existing treatments, including new drugs, vaccines, new surgical or radiation therapy approaches, and combination therapies.

Prevention Trials

Prevention trials are studies that look at ways to prevent cancer. There are two kinds of prevention trials, action studies and agent studies. In action studies, the participant is asked to do something, such as exercise or follow a special diet. In agent studies, the participant is asked to take something, such as a drug or vitamin.

Supportive Care Trials

These trials look at ways to improve the quality of life of people with cancer, especially those who have side effects from cancer and its treatment.

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Clinical trials are conducted across Florida at virtually every Oncology practice office; however, organizations that have earned the Florida Department of Health’s designation as a Cancer Center of Excellence typically have the most comprehensive clinical trial portfolios. Cancer Centers of Excellence also have robust Clinical Research Offices to actively recruit participants and manage their trial portfolio. The following organizations have received the designation as a Cancer Center of Excellence. Currently, seven organizations conducting clinical trials in Florida have earned designation as a Florida Cancer Center of Excellence. These include the following:

Cleveland Clinic Florida Maroone Cancer Center
Weston, FL

cleveland-clinic-florida-braathen-center

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
Tampa, FL

Mayo Clinic
Jacksonville, FL

Memorial Cancer Institute
Hollywood, FL

Florida Atlanta University
Boca Raton, FL

Florida-Atlantic-University-Charles-E.-Schmidt-College-of-Medicine-Boca-Raton-Florida

Univ. of Florida Health Cancer Center
Gainesville, FL

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University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Miami, FL

ClinicalTrials.gov

National Cancer Institute National Clinical Trials Network

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. (2024). NCI’s Dictionary of Cancer Terms. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/clinical-trial. Accessed March 3, 2024.

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