Clinical trials and placebos

Throughout time, doctors have come to realize that some patients feel better just because they believe (mistakenly) that they are being treated. This is called the placebo effect.

Placebo is a substance or treatment with no active therapeutic effect.

Despite being a temporary feeling, and with no effect on cancer, the placebo effect can give the erroneous impression that a treatment is working when, in reality, is not. 

To overcome this problem, clinical trials are normally designed so patients do not know what treatment they are receiving - whether the one being tested or a control without therapeutic effect. 

In the specific case of cancer trials, the comparison is done between the standard treatment used for that cancer, and the new one to be tested, which should be as effective or better than the standard one. 

It would have been unacceptably unethical to offer a no-treatment to a patient with cancer.

In very particular cases, however, a placebo – a non-active substance – can be used. For example, when doctors are trying to understand if a new drug added to the standard treatment could improve its efficacy.

In these cases, the patient receives either:
 • The standard treatment + placebo
OR
• The standard treatment + new therapy

In exceptional circumstances, when there is no treatment available for the disease, the placebo might be considered but only WITH THE PATIENT’S CONSENT.