Depending on the questions healthcare experts wish to answer, these studies can be designed in various ways.
Any research design study isn't perfect. All the designs have their own strengths and drawbacks. Thus, it is vital to know a design study. After doing it, you can also know the outcomes to know whether these are ideal for your situation or not.
Two research study types are there in cancer research
Experimental studies – With such studies you can determine an intervention, like a new treatment type. The intervention is also meant for a group of people. Then, the researchers compare their outcomes to people of another group that don't get the intervention. The other group is also known as the control group. The researchers also determine who does an d who doesn't get intervention either randomly or through any selection process. Such cancer research studies also test new techniques of imaging while exploring the quality of such life problems.
Observational Studies – Such a type of study is about observing people in natural settings and looking at specific outcomes. An outcome can either include whether 1 group of people have more cancer diagnoses compared to another group. These studies can be described as epidemiologic. Epidemiology also involves studying the caused risks or the community spread of disease.
Experimental Study Types
Compared to observational studies, Experimental studies are said to be more reliable. This is because the volunteers get placed in the control group or intervention by chance. It minimizes the likelihood that the preferences or assumptions of volunteers or researchers change through the study outcomes. Such preferences or assumptions are called biased.
The study also helps researchers in finding better and also controlling various other factors like age, weight, and sex. These features also affect the outcomes of such studies. Researchers can also consider certain factors while selecting people for enrolling in an experimental study. They're based on cancer type, the disease stage, or whether cancer has been spread.
A clinical trial is among the common experimental study types. This cancer research study tests medical intervention in patients. The clinical traits test:
A new approach to surgery or radiation
Safety or effectiveness of a combination of various drugs or a new type of drug
New cancer treatment approaches like surgery or radiation therapy
New ways of prevention and treatment of cancer
Ways to minimize the risk of cancer arriving back again Researchers and doctors conduct their clinical research in segments known as phases. Different phases of clinical trials provide different answers about new treatments.
Observational studies Types
Researchers don't have much control over study volunteers. It means that the outcomes can get influenced through certain factors. However, these studies are ideal to provide the general evidence helpful for guiding future research.
Observational studies also include:
Case – control outcomes – Such studies compare 2 people groups. For instance, they can compare people with cancer (the case) and people who don't (the control). Researchers might look for genetic or lifestyle differences between both groups. This helps in finding out why one group has the disease and the other doesn't.
Cohort Studies – Such studies are prospective, meaning that the researchers have studied the event as it occurs. They also monitor people for a long time while tracking something. For example, they can track new diagnoses of cancer.
Case series and reports – These are details of the medical history of a patient. Individual patient descriptions are also known as case reports. When patients get similar cancer treatment , the ca se reports can get combined in case series.
Cross – sectional studies – Such studies can examine the diseases that interact with factors within a certain group at a time point. However, these studies not only measure interactions in a single time point, b ut they also can't provide that something leads to cancer.
It's best to get the advice of your health care team about everything you've found in a study or an abstract. When you've reviewed a study suggesting different cancer treatment approaches, don't change or stop the treatment. Firstly talk with the health care team about how the study can relate to the treatment approach.