Clinical Trial Types

A woman is eligible to participate in a clinical trial at any point in her experience with ovarian cancer. Many women think of clinical trials as an option only after other treatments have failed. Clinical trials exist for women in this situation, but many equally important trials are available for women earlier in their fight against ovarian cancer.

Prevention Trials

Prevention trials test ways to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. They typically enroll healthy women at high risk for developing ovarian cancer or survivors who want to prevent its return or reduce the chance of developing a new type of cancer.

Screening Trials

Screening trials look for ways to detect ovarian cancer at an early stage in healthy women.

Diagnostic Trials

Diagnostic trials seek to develop better ways to diagnose and care for women with ovarian cancer. They usually enroll women who have already had ovarian cancer or who have signs and symptoms of it. Many of the current diagnostic trials in ovarian cancer focus on proteomics, which involves evaluating the levels of different proteins in the blood.

Treatment Trials

Treatment trials determine what new treatments or combinations of existing treatments can help women who have ovarian cancer. They evaluate the effectiveness of new treatments or new ways to use existing treatments. (A “treatment” may be a drug, therapy vaccine, surgery or any combination of these.) Various treatment trials exist for women with ovarian cancer, most of which explore the effectiveness of different combinations of surgery and drug therapies in fighting ovarian cancer.

Quality-of-Life/Supportive Care Trials

Quality-of-life/supportive care trials aim to improve the quality of life for ovarian cancer patients, survivors, and their families. These may include issues like side effects from chemotherapy like neuropathy or nausea, or need for pain medication.

Genetics Trials

Usually part of another clinical trial, genetic trials attempt to determine how a woman’s genetic makeup can influence the detection, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of ovarian cancer. (Family-based genetic research studies exist that differ from cancer clinical trials; in these studies, multiple high-risk family members may give blood and tissue and agree to be evaluated on an annual basis.)

Phases of Trials

Clinical trials occur in sequential phases, each of which serve a different function. Here is how the National Cancer Institute describes the trial phases:





Next: Learn about The Clinical Trial Process