Crispin Malpas
Clinical trial participant
Everyone at the centre has been absolutely brilliant.
People affected by cancer often want to know if a clinical trial might be an option for them. Find out what trials are being run and how to decide whether to join one.
The Centre for Cancer Immunology is home to the Southampton Clinical Trials Unit, which tests new treatments with hospitals across the UK. Find out more about how to join a trial.
How to find out if a trial could help you
If you are interested in taking part in a trial, you should speak to your doctor or medical professional responsible for your care.
We cannot respond directly to patient enquiries at the Centre.
Your doctor or cancer specialist can make requests to the Centre and others running trials. The y will do this is they decide a trial would be in your interests.
Trials will not always be suitable for you or likely to benefit you. You can find out more about trials taking place from Cancer Research UK.
How you can decide if a trial is for you
If a trial is found to be suitable for you, the hospital research team will talk to you about it. They will give you a patient information sheet telling you about:
- the aims of the trial
- the hospital visits you could expect
- what would happen at those visits
- possible side effects of the treatment
You will have time to go away and read this information and to ask any questions before you decide to take part.
What it is like to take part in a trial
Three-year-old Woody was accepted onto a trial to boost patients' immune systems as a way to treat his childhood cancer. "We knew a trial would give us a chance - and also could help someone else down the road," said Jack, Woody's dad. Read Woody's story about joining a trial.
Crispin, a 40-year-old doctor, was accepted onto one of our immunotherapy trials to treat his oesophageal cancer. He has been told he might only have months to live. Read Crispin's story.