Clinical trials are an essential part of cancer research. New treatments must be thoroughly tested in the clinic before they can become widely available.

"By participating in trials, people can play a more active role in their own healthcare and help others by contributing to research," says Kate Law, our Head of Clinical Trials.

Saving more lives with new treatments

Cancer Research UK is committed to taking scientific advances all the way from the laboratory bench to the patient's bedside. Our ability to fast track potential new treatments to patients is second to none.

Working with doctors and nurses throughout the UK, the charity is supporting over 100 clinical trials, many of which are testing new drugs and treatments for cancer. Over the next five years, we plan to double the number of new therapies being given to patients for the first time.

Clinical Cancer Research Centres

Key to our success are our flagship Clinical Cancer Research Centres. These bring together world-class scientists and doctors on major hospital sites. They are working side-by-side and with cancer patients on innovative areas of research – such as using viruses to kill cancer cells and tailoring cancer treatments to a person's genetic make-up.

Our aim is to develop increasingly more targeted treatments that will only kill cancer cells. These should be more effective and have far fewer side effects than existing treatments.

Success in prevention and diagnosis

Clinical trials are also needed to test new ways of diagnosing and preventing cancer.

For example, our scientists have been conducting a large-scale screening trial for bowel cancer. Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK. Improving early detection of the disease will help save many lives in the future.

Also, scientists funded by Cancer Research UK are currently leading a worldwide breast cancer prevention study called IBIS II. This is investigating whether the breast cancer drug anastrozole can prevent the disease in women at increased risk.

Help make a difference

If you are interested in taking part in a clinical trial, visit our award-winning patient information website, CancerHelp UK, which contains the only database of UK clinical trials written specifically for patients in Plain English.