Clinical Trials
for Cancer in California
1237 clinical trials for Cancer are currently recruiting participants at study sites in California. Study-related care is provided at no cost.
Cancer clinical trials in California: what to expect
Cancer is the single largest area of clinical research, and nearly every recruiting cancer trial is written for one cancer type at one stage. Most test a new drug or combination against the current standard treatment: targeted medicines matched to a mutation found in the tumor, immunotherapies that help the immune system recognize cancer cells, antibody-drug conjugates and cell therapies. Others study surgery and radiation techniques, ways to reduce side effects, and screening or prevention in people at higher risk.
In California, recruiting cancer studies are concentrated in Los Angeles, Duarte, San Francisco and Irvine, with sites in 169 other cities. 646 of the 1237 are run by a drug or device company, which usually means a larger study with travel reimbursement; the rest are academic or hospital-led.
Who cancer trials usually look for
Every listing names the cancer type and stage it enrolls, and most also state how many earlier treatments you may have had: some are for people newly diagnosed, many are for cancer that has come back or spread after a first treatment stopped working. Targeted-therapy trials require a specific result on tumor testing, which the site can arrange if it has not been done. Trials generally ask that you are well enough for daily activity (a "performance status" the doctor scores), that blood counts and liver and kidney function are adequate, and that a few weeks have passed since your last treatment.
Having advanced or metastatic cancer does not rule you out. A large share of recruiting trials are designed specifically for it.
What taking part involves
Screening reviews your pathology and scans, often with new blood work and sometimes a fresh biopsy. Treatment then follows a cycle, typically every two or three weeks, with scans every six to twelve weeks to measure the response. Early-phase trials have more frequent visits at the start. The study drug and study-specific tests are provided at no cost; standard care that you would receive anyway is usually billed to insurance as normal. A placebo on its own is rare in cancer trials: when there is one, it is added to the standard treatment, and the consent form says so.
Questions worth asking the study team
Whether the trial is randomized and what the comparison treatment is; what happens if the cancer grows during the study; whether you can keep receiving the drug afterward if it is working; how the trial fits with the plan your own oncologist has suggested; and what travel or lodging support is offered. Your oncologist can also refer you directly.
Showing 20 of 1237 recruiting Cancer trials in California
Where the Cancer studies are in California
- City of Hope Medical Center, Duarte74 trials
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles71 trials
- UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla69 trials
- USC / Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles62 trials
- University of California Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, Sacramento61 trials
- University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco61 trials
- Los Angeles510
- Duarte285
- San Francisco275
- Irvine185
- La Jolla177
- Orange161
- Sacramento157
- San Diego140
Counts are recruiting studies listing at least one site in California, from ClinicalTrials.gov, refreshed every two days.
Cancer clinical trials in California: common questions
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