Glossary
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People with specific medical conditions such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, rare and orphan diseases, neuromuscular disorders or lung diseases can participate in clinical trials. Healthy people can also participate in some clinical trials. Each participant is selected based on eligibility criteria specific to the trial.
Eligibility Criteria
For people to be eligible to participate in a clinical trial, their profile must meet certain conditions called eligibility criteria that are specific to each clinical trial. These criteria help:
- Recruit people with similar conditions so that the results of the trial are scientifically valid.
- Guide researchers in understanding who will benefit most from the new treatment (treatment efficacy is tested on a specific medical condition, at a defined stage of the disease).
- Protect some people whose health status is incompatible with the study treatment.
Some examples of eligibility criteria are:
The medical condition and its stage of advancement, overall health status, age, lifestyle (smoking, physical activity, diet...), the number and types of treatments previously received, certain laboratory results (blood samples, urine tests...) and other medical conditions (coexisting conditions such as diabetes, for example).
When to Participate in a Clinical Trial?
People with a medical condition could participate in a clinical trial at any point in time. This decision may depend on the therapeutic field (rare diseases, oncology, neurological diseases...) and the characteristics of the medical condition (stage of disease, mutations...).
For example, in oncology, people most often participate in a clinical trial when standard treatments do not work. In the case of rare diseases, clinical trials may provide a first line of treatment.
For an Informed Decision
Before participating in a clinical trial, it is important to understand the risks and benefits associated with the trial.
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