Cancer research trials are designed by groups of medical specialists and include input from patients, nurses, statistical experts and support staff. The design for the study is known as the protocol. When the research protocol is ready, it is given to an ethics committee. This is an independent group of people which includes doctors, nurses, members of the public and sometimes lawyers. They decide whether the trial is ethical.
This means they check that:
- The trial is looking at an important question in cancer care that has not yet been answered.
- The researchers are properly qualified.
- The probable benefits of the new treatment are likely to outweigh the side effects.
- The way in which people will be entered (recruited) into the trial is correct.
- There is enough money to cover all likely expenses.
When the ethics committee give the go-ahead, the trial can begin.
