About clinical trials

Clinical trials are research studies that involve people.

Clinical trials for sarcoma help doctors find new and better ways to diagnose, treat, or prevent it. 

There are different types of clinical trials, depending on what the researchers are studying. Clinical trials for sarcoma might look at: 

• new medicines or treatments, such as immunotherapy 
• new ways to diagnose or monitor sarcoma 
• ways to manage symptoms or treatment side effects 
• quality of life for people living with sarcoma. 

Not every clinical trial leads to a new or improved treatment. Some trials may show that a treatment does not work as well as hoped or does not work at all. But this information is still important. It helps researchers learn more and can improve future care.

Types of trials

Clinical trials that test medicines are split into phases, numbered from 0 to 4. 

Phase 0 and 1 

These early trials involve a small number of people. They aim to find out: 

• if the treatment is safe 
• what the side effects might be 
• how the body processes the treatment 
• what is the best dose to use 
• if the treatment shrinks the cancer. 

Phase 2 

These trials usually involve more people. They aim to: 

• find out which types of sarcoma the treatment might work for 
• learn more about the side effects and how to manage them 
• see if the treatment works well enough to test in a larger phase 3 trial. 

Some phase 2 trials compare the new treatment with another treatment already in use, or with a dummy drug called a placebo, like a sugar pill that looks real but does not contain any real medicine.  

Phase 3 

These larger trials compare a new treatment with the best currently available treatment, often called the standard treatment. They might compare: 

• a new treatment with the current standard treatment 
• different doses or ways of giving a standard treatment. 

If the phase 2 and 3 trials go well, the medicine may be approved for use in people with sarcoma.  

Phase 4 

These trials happen after a treatment has been approved for general use. They help researchers understand: 

• long term effects of the medicine 
• how the medicine works in different groups of people, like age or ethnicity.

Treatment groups 

In most clinical trials, participants are split into different groups. You may hear terms like: 

Treatment group: you will have the new treatment that researchers are testing. 

Control group: you will have the current standard treatment. If there is not a standard treatment, you may be given a placebo. 

Randomisation: a computer randomly decided which group you are placed in. This is to help make sure that the trial is fair and unbiased. Most of the time, you cannot choose your group, and your doctor cannot choose it either. 

Blinding: in some trials, you will not know what group you’re in. In a double-blind trial, neither you nor the research team knows. This helps to ensure the results are as unbiased as possible. 

Trials are carefully monitored. If the treatment is not working or is causing problems, you can stop at any time. 

You can find more information about phases and types of trials in our Clinical Trials Glossary. 

Who can take part? 

Every clinical trial has specific rules about who can join. These are called eligibility or inclusion criteria and are usually based on things like:  

• the type of sarcoma you have 
• your treatment history 
• your age  
• your general health. 

If you are eligible to take part, it is always your decision if you want to join a trial or not. We have more information about taking part in a cancer clinical trial. 

FAIR trials

Research into teenage and young adult cancers has made slower progress than for any other age group. Most clinical trials exclude patients under eighteen with no medical reason. Sarcoma UK supports the Fostering Age Inclusive Research (FAIR) Trials initiative and calls on researchers, regulators, and members of ethics committees to consider adolescent inclusion in adult research when relevant.

Find out more about FAIR trials