Encouraging patients to ask about clinical trials

As a patient who may not be responsive to current front-line treatment, always ask if there is a clinical trial investigating a novel treatment for the condition you have. Here, Simon Rule, MD, from Plymouth University, Plymouth, UK, delivers this key message to patients, explaining that many trials will aim to offer patients either the current therapeutic standard or a potentially better treatment. Incoming BSH Vice President Prof. Rule points out the newer treatments that prove to be effective can become the new standard therapy, indicating how clinical trials help to evolve therapy. Prof. Rule was speaking at the British Society for Haematology (BSH) 2018 Annual Meeting in Liverpool, UK.