To find a clinical trial, a good first step is to talk with your doctor. Because new clinical trials are created constantly, many people also look in other places to find research studies that they may be interested in joining.

The organizations below offer free, searchable listings of cancer clinical trials. (Please note that if you select one of these websites, you will leave Cancer.Net.) Other organizations that offer such search engines include individual medical/cancer centers, drug manufacturing companies, and patient advocacy organizations.

National Cancer Institute (NCI) Clinical Trials: The NCI, part of the National Institutes of Health, is the federal agency that provides funding for most U.S. cancer clinical trials. This comprehensive site provides information on both open and closed cancer clinical trials that are funded by the government, as well as many sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, medical centers, and some international organizations.

CenterWatch: This is a publishing and information services company that offers a list of institutional review board (IRB)-approved clinical trials.

EmergingMed Navigator: EmergingMed offers a phone and Internet-based service that identifies clinical trial options which match a patient’s specific diagnosis, stage and treatment history. Clinical trial specialists provide telephone support upon request to help connect eligible patients with IRB-approved study sites that are enrolling new participants.

TrialCheck: TrialCheck is an online search engine where people can find tailored information about cancer clinical trials that are enrolling patients at hospitals, cancer centers, and oncology practices in the U.S. and internationally.

WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform Search Portal: The World Health Organization (WHO) coordinates health matters within the United Nations. This database allows people to search clinical trial registration information from many countries’ registries.

Disease-specific listings

Below are free search engines that providing clinical trials listings for a specific type of cancer.

BreastCancerTrials.org: A not-for-profit online service that helps users to find breast cancer-specific clinical trials that might be right for them. The site offers study summaries, a way for users to share their online health history with research sites, and an alert service that notifies users of recently added clinical trials. BreastCancerTrials.org includes studies sponsored by NCI, public research foundations, and the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry.

Targeted Therapy Finder – Melanoma: Offered through a partnership between ASCO and CollabRx, this online tool enables people to learn more about emerging therapies and specific genetic profiles of melanoma that these drugs target.

More Information

ASCO Expert Corner: What Makes a Quality Clinical Trials Site

About Clinical Trials

Deciding to Participate in a Clinical Trial

Seeking a Second Opinion