All clinical trials have guidelines about who can participate. Using inclusion/ exclusion criteria is an important principle of medical research that helps to produce reliable results. The factors that allow someone to participate in a clinical trial are called "inclusion criteria" and those that disallow someone from participating are called "exclusion criteria".

Volunteers participating in Clinical Trials are protected by strict ethical, scientific and regulatory requirements for conducting a clinical trial. Anne Arundel Medical Center has an Institutional Review Board, including community members, clergy and health professionals, which must approve a research study before it is offered to volunteers. The Institutional Review Board monitors the study for safety while it is being conducted.

A clinical trial (also clinical research) is a research study in human volunteers to answer specific health questions. Carefully conducted clinical trials are the fastest and safest way to find treatments that work in people and ways to improve health. Interventional trials determine whether experimental treatments or new ways of using known therapies are safe and effective under controlled environments.

Every clinical trial is designed to answer a specific research question. Each study enrolls patients with specific types and stages of cancer and certain levels of health. Before you enter a trial, there is a process to make sure that you are eligible, and that you have all the information to decide if you want to participate. First, your health care team will review your medical records. Your doctor will review your history and examine you.

This depends on specific research goals of each trial. You must meet the requirements of the trial that you are interested in participating.