For Our Patients

Clinical Trials

A clinical trial does a comparision between a specific treatment that is currently recognized as the best available (standard of care) with a treatment that the study's researchers believe is even safer or more effective.

In addition to receiving high-quality care, there are many benefits to enrolling in a clinical trial. Your part could benefit others patients by increasing knowledge about a disease and its potential treatments. Also consider that, as part of a clinical trial, you may be one of the first patients to show positive results from a new therapy. On the other hand, a possible side-effect or not showing promise for a cure is possible.

If clinical trials prove a new treatment to be more effective than current therapies, then it may become the new standard of care. Through clinical trials we make progress in the battle against cancer and patients receive therapy.

Clinical trials have four phases

A Phase I study is the first use of a new drug or a new drug indication in humans. It is used to test for safety and side effects, and to determine how the drug should be given. A small amount of patients are excepted in a phase I trial.

A Phase II trial investigates the ideal dosing range of a specific drug. Usually a larger number of patients help determine how well it works, and may assist in detecting side-effects.

A Phase III trial, experimental treatments are compared to placebo (an inactive substance that looks like the experimental treatment) or common or standard therapies. Patients who participate in Phase III trials are randomized (randomly chosen) to receive the experimental treatment or to receive placebo or a standard therapy. Those patients who are selected to receive placebo or standard therapy are referred to as the control group. The purpose of a Phase III trial is to determine if patients receiving the experimental therapy do better than those in the control group.

A Phase IV clinical trial may be conducted to continue evaluation of the safety and efficacy of therapies that have been approved by the FDA and is available for general use.

* Remember....Ask as many questions as you can think, be well informed.

* To begin a clinical trial seek the guidance of your doctor or health care provider.

* To view the current clinical trials available for cancer patients, click here



The Department of Dermatology at Johns Hopkins is sponsoring a free Skin Cancer Screening Clinic on June 14, 2006 at the Baltimore East Campus Outpatient Center, 6th floor.


Beginning July 1, 2006, The Department of Dermatology will be expanding clinical skin cancer services. Because of the increasing needs for skin cancer treatment, the department has increased its capacity to treat patients.


Through the department’s collaborative relationship with the Coalition for Skin Cancer in Maryland, we have embarked on a project that includes educational materials to raise public awareness and teach people about the importance of skin cancer prevention and early detection.


In order to improve patient diagnosis and treatment, the Department of Dermatology has begun a project to expand and improve its already existing cutaneous oncology database to help researchers develop new methods to detect and treat melanoma and other skin cancers. While the Dermatology Department has had a Cutaneous Oncology Database since 1980, this new update will provide researchers with new tools to answer important research questions.


The Johns Hopkins Department of Dermatology welcomes Dr. Radha Mikkilieni to the dermatopathology team. Dr. Radha Mikkilieni will join our practice in July of 2006. Dr. Mikkilieni has extensive experience in pigmented lesions and looks forward to participating in the Johns Hopkins Melanoma and Cutaneous Oncology Group.