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Why Should I Register and Submit Results?
Contents
- What Is the Purpose of Trial Registration and Results Submission?
- Why Do I Need To Register My Trial and Submit Results to ClinicalTrials.gov?
- Learn More
What Is the Purpose of Trial Registration and Results Submission?
Registering clinical trials when they begin, providing timely updates, submitting summary results, and making this information publicly available fulfills a number of purposes and benefits a variety of people.
Trial Registry Purposes for Various Groups
Registry Purpose | Group That Benefits |
---|---|
Fulfill ethical obligations to participants and community | Patients, general public, research community |
Provide information to potential participants and referring clinicians | Patients, clinicians |
Reduce publication bias | Users of the medical literature |
Help editors and others understand the context of study results | Journal editors, users of the medical literature |
Promote more efficient allocation of research funds | Granting agencies, research community |
Help institutional review boards (IRBs) determine appropriateness of a research study | IRBs, ethicists |
Source: | Zarin DA, Keselman A. Registering a clinical trial in ClinicalTrials.gov. Chest. 2007;131(3):909-12. [Full Text] |
Results Database Purposes for Various Groups
Results Database Purpose | Group That Benefits |
---|---|
Provide public record of basic study results in a standardized format | Researchers, journal editors, institutional review boards, and ethicists |
Promote fulfilling of ethical responsibility to participants; use of research results to contribute to medical knowledge | Patients, general public, and research community |
Mitigate "publication" and "outcome reporting" biases | Users of medical literature |
Facilitate systematic reviews and other analyses of the research literature | Researchers and policymakers |
Source: | Tse T, Williams RJ, Zarin DA. Reporting "Basic Results" in ClinicalTrials.gov. Chest. 2009;136(1):295-303. [Full Text] |
Why Do I Need To Register My Trial and Submit Results to ClinicalTrials.gov?
Required by Law
Section 801 of the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act (FDAAA 801) (PDF) requires Responsible Parties to register and submit summary results of clinical trials with ClinicalTrials.gov. The law applies to certain clinical trials of drugs (including biological products) and medical devices. For more information:
- See FDAAA 801 Requirements to learn about Responsible Party, Applicable Clinical Trials, and deadlines for registration and results submission
- See the Protocol Data Element Definitions and Basic Results Data Element Definitions to learn about the specific data elements
- See History, Policies, and Laws to learn about other relevant laws, including the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act
- View the online presentation
Key FDAAA Issues (9:23)
Deborah A. Zarin, M.D., Director, ClinicalTrials.gov, NLM
Discusses key issues in the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act related to registering trials and submitting results.
Required for Journal Publication
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) requires trial registration as a condition for the publication of research results generated by a clinical trial. ClinicalTrials.gov is a registry where organizations and individuals can provide the World Health Organization (WHO) Trial Registration Data Set required by ICMJE.
See ICMJE section of Support Materials or visit http://www.icmje.org.
Selected Trial Registration Laws and Policies
A summary of key laws and policies requiring clinical trial registration are shown in the table below:
Name | Type | Intervention Type | Registration Policy Scope |
Results Submission Policy Scope |
---|---|---|---|---|
Section 801 of the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act (FDAAA 801) (PDF) | U.S. Federal law enacted in 2007 | Drugs, biologics, and devices | Controlled clinical investigations of an FDA-regulated drug, biologic, or device, other than Phase 1 (drugs/biologics) or small feasibility studies | Same scope as registration, but interventional studies of FDA approved drugs, biologics, or devices |
Declaration of Helsinki – Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects | International policy initially adopted by the World Medical Association (WMA) General Assembly in 1964; amended in 2008 | Any (includes drugs, biologics, devices, surgical procedures, and behavioral treatments) | "Every clinical trial must be registered in a publicly accessible database before recruitment of the first subject." (Para 19) | "Authors have a duty to make publicly available the results of their research on human subjects... Negative and inconclusive as well as positive results should be published or otherwise made publicly available." (Para 30.) |
Clinical Trials Directive (2001/20/EC), Article 11 (and associated Regulations and Guidelines) | European Union directive adopted in 2001 | Drugs and biologics | Phase 2–4 adult trials and Phase 1–4 pediatric trials | Same scope as registration (includes products without marketing authorization applications) |
WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform | International policy initiated in 2006 | Any (includes drugs, biologics, devices, surgical procedures, and behavioral treatments) | "The registration of all interventional trials is a scientific, ethical and moral responsibility." | N/A |
ICMJE Statement | Publication policy initiated in 2004 | Any (includes drugs, biologics, devices, surgical procedures, and behavioral treatments) | All interventional studies, including Phase 1 studies; defines criteria for "acceptable registries" | N/A |
Section 113 of the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act | U.S. Federal law enacted in 1997 | Drugs and biologics | Efficacy trials for "serious or life threatening diseases or conditions" regulated by FDA | N/A |
Adapted from: | Zarin DA, Ide NC, Tse T, Harlan WR, West JC, Lindberg DA.
Issues in the registration of clinical trials.
JAMA. 2007;297(19):2112-20.
Zarin DA, Tse T, Williams RJ, Califf RM, Ide NC. The ClinicalTrials.gov results database—update and key issues. N Engl J Med. 2011;364(9):852-60. [Full Text] |
For more information see History, Policies, and Laws
Learn More
- Submit Studies. This section of the site is a resource for clinical research professionals, sponsors, or investigators who are responsible for registration and results submission to ClinicalTrials.gov.
- How to Register Your Study. Learn more about registering studies.
- How to Submit Your Results. Learn more about registering and submitting study results.