Related Pages Protecting Participants in Clinical Trials A collection of material about the ways in which clinical trials participants are protected before and during the conduct of a study. Monitoring NCI-Sponsored Clinical Trials Protections for patients in cancer studies come into play at various times before and during a clinical trial. Before a trial can start enrolling patients, for example, it must be approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB), located at the hospital or other site where the study will be conducted.

If you are thinking about participating in a clinical trial, you probably have a few important questions weighing on your mind: Is there a system in place to make sure this is a worthwhile study that does not subject people to unnecessary risks? In other words, who is checking up on the research team? What if things don't turn out the way that investigators are expecting they will? Who is watching out for any unexpected problems? Who is making sure that participants are protected? This guide is designed to answer those questions.

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