Questions people actually ask

No. Searching is free and you do not need an account to look. We do not charge you, and we are not paid for connecting you to a study.

Your oncologist. They know your diagnosis, your treatment so far and your test results, and those are what decide which studies are realistic for you.

Bring the trial ID numbers and the match reasoning with you. Then ask directly: is this one worth looking into for me?

No. Searching by cancer type alone gives you useful results.

If you have had testing and know a result like EGFR L858R or KRAS G12C, you can search that directly and the matching gets more specific. If you have not had testing, that is worth asking your oncologist about.

No. This is the most common misunderstanding about trials.

Studies run at every stage, including for people who were diagnosed recently and have not started treatment. Some studies require that you have not been treated before. Waiting until nothing else has worked can rule you out of studies you could have joined earlier.

Usually not. It depends on the study and where it runs.

Some trials run at the center where you are already treated. Others run somewhere else, and you would see that study team for trial visits while your own oncologist stays involved. Ask the study coordinator how it is split before you commit to anything.

Being given nothing at all is rare in cancer trials.

When a study does use a placebo, it is almost always added to the standard treatment you would have received anyway. One group gets standard treatment plus the new drug. The other gets standard treatment plus a placebo.

The study documents have to tell you what each group receives before you agree to anything. If that is not clear, ask the coordinator to walk you through it.

The phase tells you what question the study is trying to answer.

Phase 1 looks at safety and dosage, usually in a small group. Phase 2 looks at whether the treatment works against a specific cancer. Phase 3 compares it with the current standard treatment in a much larger group. Phase 4 follows a treatment that is already approved.

A later phase is not automatically better for you. An early-phase study is sometimes the only place a particular drug is available at all.

You can leave at any time, for any reason, and you do not have to explain yourself. Leaving does not affect the regular care you are entitled to. That is part of the consent you sign, not something anyone grants you.

It depends on where the study has sites, and it varies a lot by cancer type. Rarer cancers usually mean longer trips.

Curova looks within 50 miles by default, and you can widen or narrow that. Before you commit, ask how often you would need to be on site. Weekly visits at 90 miles is a very different commitment from monthly visits.

That depends on your plan, your state and the study, so there is no single answer we can give you.

The usual pattern is that the sponsor covers costs specific to the research, such as the drug being tested and study-only scans. Your regular care during the trial is billed to insurance as it would have been anyway. Travel and lodging are what catch people out.

Ask the study coordinator for a written breakdown of what is covered. Ask whether the study has a travel stipend, because many do.

Your search terms are used to run your search. Curova does not ask you to upload medical records, and this website collects no health information at all.

The contact form takes your name, email, organization and message. Please keep diagnosis details out of it. We built it so there is nowhere for that information to go.

No. Curova helps you find studies and understand why they might fit. It does not enroll anyone.

Every trial runs its own screening, with its own doctors and its own tests, and that team decides who is eligible. A high match score means a study is worth asking about, not that you are in.