Phases of Clinical Trials
- The term “phase” is used to describe the goals of a clinical trial.
- Phase I clinical trials are used to show that a new treatment is safe for a small group of people and to find the best dose and schedule for future research of the drug or drug combination.
- Phase II clinical trials provide more information about the safety of the new treatment and how well it works to treat a specific type of cancer.
- Phase III clinical trials compare a new treatment or treatments with the standard treatment in a large group of people.
Clinical trials are done in phases. Each phase describes the general information about a new treatment that is being collected in a clinical trial, such as the dose, safety, and how well it works. The phases are called I, II, and III.