Clinical Trial Benefits and Considerations

Pancreatic cancer patients who participate in clinical research have better outcomes. Every treatment available today was approved through a clinical trial. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network strongly recommends clinical trials at diagnosis and during every treatment decision.

It is important to understand your treatment options, consider the benefits and risks of participating in a clinical trial and discuss this information with your healthcare team to determine if a clinical trial is the right option for you.

Potential Benefits

Possibility that the drugs or treatment program used in the trial will be better than currently approved treatment options
Care is provided by top doctors and researchers at leading healthcare facilities
Access to new treatments or treatment strategies that may not otherwise be available
Closer monitoring of the patient
Helping to advance treatment of the disease

Potential Risks

Possibility of unexpected or unpleasant side effects
Chance that the new drug or treatment may be ineffective or less effective than current options for pancreatic cancer
May require greater time commitment due to extra clinic visits for treatments or monitoring
Additional cost may be involved (i.e., housing and transportation, insurance payment for treatment outside covered network)

Our PanCAN Patient Services Case Managers are here to help. If you have any questions, would like additional information or would like to have a personalized clinical trials search performed, please contact a Case Manager. You can also start your own search using our Clinical Trial Finder.

Clinical Trials Resources

Frequently Asked Questions
Free Patient Education Packet: includes Clinical Trials: Understanding How Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Trials Work

Information provided by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Inc. (“PanCAN”) is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or other health care services. PanCAN may provide information to you about physicians, products, services, clinical trials or treatments related to pancreatic cancer, but PanCAN does not recommend nor endorse any particular health care resource. In addition, please note any personal information you provide to PanCAN’s staff during telephone and/or email communications may be stored and used to help PanCAN achieve its mission of assisting patients with, and finding cures and treatments for, pancreatic cancer. Stored constituent information may be used to inform PanCAN programs and activities. Information also may be provided in aggregate or limited formats to third parties to guide future pancreatic cancer research and education efforts. PanCAN will not provide personal directly identifying information (such as your name or contact information) to such third parties without your prior written consent unless required or permitted by law to do so. For more information on how we may use your information, you can find our privacy policy on our website at https://www.pancan.org/privacy/.