What Are Crossover Trials and How Do They Work?
Many clinical trials are called parallel clinical trials in which a participant receives the same treatment throughout the trial. However, there is another type called crossover clinical trials in which a participant can switch treatments. In crossover clinical trials, each participant has the opportunity to receive the experimental drug.
There are different types of crossover trials. In some crossover trials, if you are in the control group (where you receive the standard of care plus a placebo), you will be able to later “crossover” and receive the standard of care plus the new experimental drug.
Click the links below for what you should know about crossover trials and to learn about the advantages of these trials.
- Students 4 Best Evidence: Crossover Trials: What Are They and What Are Their Advantages and Limitations?
- Lilly: Clinical Trial Design: Parallel and Crossover Studies
- ASCO: “Treatment Switching” or “Crossover” in Cancer Clinical Trials
- Winchester Hospital: Advantages and Limitations of a Crossover Study