What are the pros and cons of participating in a clinical research study?

It's important to note that there are both benefits and drawbacks to participation in a clinical research study. 

The following are a few of the pros and cons of your participation:

Pro

In addition to receiving high-quality care, there are many other benefits to participating in clinical research studies.  Your participation could potentially benefit others by increasing knowledge about a disease and its potential treatments.  Also, consider that, as a clinical study participant, you could be one of the first participants to experience positive results from a new therapy.

Con

It is possible that new treatments may not be better than standard care, and may, in fact, be worse.  Unknown side effects may be worse than those experienced with standard treatments.  Also, you may be placed in a control group that receives the standard care instead of the study treatment.  You may be placed in a control group and receive placebo (a sugar pill), which has no therapeutic benefit.