With advancements in genetics, biomedical engineering, dermatology, life sciences, oncology and many other fields of study, treatments for cancer, and particularly skin cancer, is still limited. Research into the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of skin cancer is being done and, especially for patients in the later stages of skin cancer, clinical trials are a boon, to find that one drug or vaccine, or a combination of therapies that would alleviate the symptoms or side effects of the skin cancer treatment procedures.

Any new drug, to be approved by the FDA in the United States, has to be first tested through clinical trials, where voluntary participants are closely monitored upon the administration of new drugs or treatment methods. Clinical trials for skin cancer helps doctors study the safety and effectiveness of new drugs or combinations of therapies in comparison to existing medicines and treatment methods. While volunteers hope for better, newer treatment options via clinical trials, doctors look for advanced therapy alternatives to help patients relieve the signs of skin cancer, manage side effects better or actually find a ‘cure’ instead of only providing symptomatic treatments.

There are a few advantages that volunteers participating in skin cancer clinical trials should consider.

• They are administered brand new medicines that are not yet made available commonly. In case these are more effective, participants of skin cancer clinical trials benefit from the treatment earlier because they take the risk of taking part in these.
• Volunteers receive treatment free of cost, and where involved, are also reimbursed travel expenses.
• Apart from physicians explaining the course of treatment beforehand to volunteers at these clinical trials, patients also receive constant physical examinations, supervision, and advice from medical experts.
• Volunteers have the option of pulling out of clinical trials at any point.

Clinical trials for skin cancer are done on patients in stages III or IV of the disease, so although the risks with new treatments are considerably high, the choice is really between dealing with the life-threatening skin cancer disease or experimenting with the most recent treatments for it.