Clinical Trials
Key points
- Clinical trials are used to find new medicines and treatments
- Joining a clinical trial may give you access to new treatments that aren’t normally available in Australia
- Talk to your doctor about the benefits and risks of joining a clinical trial
What is a clinical trial?
A clinical trial is a research study that tests new ways to prevent, detect, treat or manage various health conditions and diseases.
What are the purposes of clinical trials for people with cancer?
Clinical trials are an important part of medical research. They are used to test new medical treatments, tests and procedures in humans to see if they are safe and effective, and to understand the correct dosage.
Researchers may run a clinical trial to:
- Find and diagnose cancer
- Treat cancer
- Manage side effects of cancer treatment
- Improve quality of life
- Monitor cancer over a long period of time
- Manage symptoms of cancer
- Prevent cancer.
Why might I be asked to take part in a clinical trial?
A clinical trial needs to test a medical treatment on a certain group of people (called a ‘cohort’). Some trials involve people of all ages and at all stages of disease. Others only involve people with certain characteristics or diseases.
Trials often compare outcomes in two groups of people – one group receives the new treatment while the other receives standard treatment. Sometimes a trial needs healthy volunteers (people without disease or cancer) to test the safety of a new drug.
If you are invited to be part of a clinical trial for liver cancer, it may be because your doctor wants to test what effect a new treatment has on your cancer. It can be a good way of accessing new treatments before they become widely available in Australia.
Are clinical trials safe?
If you are interested in taking part in a clinical trial, your healthcare team will give you information about the known risks and possible benefits of the treatments and procedures involved the trial.
Benefits
- People who take part in a clinical trial are closely monitored. If there are problems with the new treatment being tested, action is taken quickly
- You can access new treatment that is not yet available to anyone else
- You can help with the future of treatment in cancer
- You might have more tests and closer monitoring done during a clinical trial and this can benefit you.
Risks
- The new treatment may not work or be less effective than standard care (the care that you would normally receive if you were not taking part in the clinical trial)
- All treatments can have side effects, whether they are already approved and available or studied in a clinical trial
- You may need to travel more often, which can take time and money (see below for cost and travel assistance)
- There is a lot of information to read and paperwork to sign – involve a support person that can help if you can
- Clinical trials can take years and results may not be available straight away.
The conduct of clinical trials must be ethical. They must conform to the Ethical Principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and to international Good Clinical Practice guidelines.
Before a clinical trial can start, it needs to be approved by an independent ethics committee and follow guidelines set by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
You will be informed of any new information that comes out during a trial.
How can I find a clinical trial?
Your doctors may already be aware of some of the trials running in your area or centres. Talk to your doctor first to see if there is one you may be eligible for.
Eligibility for a clinical trial may also be discussed during the multidisciplinary meeting when you are first diagnosed with liver cancer.
Support groups or consumer health organisations are also good sources of information on clinical trials and may be able to put you in touch with others who have taken part in a clinical trial.
Australian Cancer Trials is a website designed for anyone affected by cancer and provides information on the latest clinical trials in cancer care within Australia.
You can also search the Australian Government’s clinical trials website, or on one of the other clinical trials registries that list clinical trials in Australia, New Zealand and some other countries.
Who will be involved in the clinical trial?
If you are taking part in a clinical trial, you will meet a lot of different health and research professionals, including:
- Clinical trial coordinators – nurses who specialise in research and are often the point of contact during a trial
- Medical specialists such oncologist, surgeons and hepatologist
- Researcher or investigator
- Allied health practitioners such as pharmacist, dietitians, counsellors or social workers
- There is also a group called the Human Research Ethics Committee that will look after your safety during the trial.
What you need to know about participating?
- Participation is voluntary. You may stop at any time if you feel that it is no longer working for you.
- If you decide to stop, you will still receive the best care and treatment possible for your cancer.
- Clinical trials can be available for early to advanced cancer.
- Some clinical trials may require you to do more tests, and appointments compare to the standard treatment. This ensures your safety during the clinical trials.
- Clinical trials may require you travel to different locations or to a larger regional health service or hospital in a city if you live in a rural or remote area.
Cost and travel
Joining a clinical trial should not cost you more than the standard care that you already receive. However, if you need to travel more often or if you are coming from rural or remote areas and need travel and accommodation assistance, some trials will cover the cost for this. Check with the clinical trial coordinators if they can help with the costs.
Cancer council offers accommodation during cancer treatment for you and your family or carer. Please check their website depending on where you are living.
You may also be eligible for travel and accommodation subsidy through the government schemes.
- Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Scheme (IPTAAS) in NSW – clinical trial must be registered on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) to be eligible
- Patient Assisted Travel Schemes (PATS) in QLD, SA, WA and NT – currently does not cover travel and accommodation costs to take part in a clinic trial
- Patient Travel Assistance Sceme (PTAS) in TAS – eligibility will need to be assessed through an Exceptional Ruling application
- Interstate Patient Travel and Assistance Scheme (IPTAS) in ACT.
Results after the trial has finished
Trials may take a long time to finish, and it can take years to get results. However, you will know how the treatment has affected you through your own results. It is important that you speak to your cancer specialist or clinical trial coordinator to give you results once they become available.
References
NSW Government. Cancer Institute NSW. www.cancer.nsw.gov.au/about-cancer/document-library/i-have-cancer-is-a-clinical-trial-an-option-for-me.
Australian Government. Australian Clinical Trials.www.australiancancertrials.gov.au/what-is-a-clinical-trial/what-will-taking-part-in-a-clinical-trial-mean-to-you.
Cancer Council. Clinical Trials. www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/screening-tests-and-treatments/treatment/clinical-trials.
Reviewed October 2026.