Patient and Health Care Consumer Education Guide: Finding Clinical Trials

Cancer clinical trials are research studies that test new cancer treatments to see how well they work, and for some patients with a cancer diagnosis they can be treatment options.

As trials are only one part of the cancer care experience, it is something to ask your doctor about, a conversation to have with your care team.

There are sometimes cancer disparities, differences or a lack of equality, between population groups. One way researchers are exploring this is through improved representation in cancer clinical trials.

Learn more about this in the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2022, specifically the section Disparities in Clinical Research and Cancer Treatment.

If you are interested in searching for clinical trials that you or someone else might be able to participate in, here are two registries to start with, one specific to cancer and one in general:

• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK): Cancer Clinical Trials
  • Learn about clinical trials in general, specific efforts underway at various MSK sites, the experiences of past MSK clinical trial participants, and MSK's clinical trial database.
• National Library of Medicine (NLM): ClinicalTrials.gov
  • Search this database for clinical research studies funded by public and private sectors, registered and conducted in the United States and around the world. There is a helpful For Patients and Families page to get started.
  • You can also use this database to find clinical trials where the results have been reported. Select Advanced Search on the main page under Find a Study, and then under Study Results, select Studies With Results. Below is a screenshot of what this looks like.

If you are interested in further information about clinical trials for cancer:

• National Cancer Institute (NCI): Clinical Trials Information for Patients and Caregivers
  • General information on cancer clinical trials, their costs and safety concerns, and finding NCI-supported trials in the United States and Canada.
• American Cancer Society (ACS): Clinical Trials
  • Includes a guide and videos that address questions and concerns you may have about clinical trials, and resources for finding one.
• American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO): Cancer.Net: Clinical Trials
  • Clinical trial topics include patient safety, phases, insurance coverage, placebos, questions to ask your care team, and finding a clinical trial.
• Cancer Support Community: Clinical Trials for Cancer
  • General information about cancer clinical trials, their phases, how they work, how to find a clinical trial, and when to look for them.
• Cancer Research Institute (CRI): Cancer Clinical Trials
  • Information specific to cancer immunotherapy clinical trials, including their trial finder.

Want to learn more about library support?

Visit the MSK Library home page:

• We provide both virtual and in-person resources and services.

Reach out to MSK Library staff:

• The line to reach our Reference team to ask a question is (212) 639-7439.
• Visit our Ask Us page to also reach out via email or chat.

Have questions or comments? Want to add a resource?

Please use the Feedback button at the top of the page to reach out.

The content of this guide is a work in progress, and we would love to hear from you to learn:

• What features you would like to see.
• What information is most important to your care or the care of a loved one.