Clinical trial design structures how participants are organized, data is collected, and endpoints are achieved, guiding the trial's goals. You’ll often read or hear in clinical trial reports, press releases, abstracts, and webinars how the clinical trial was originally designed, with several of the following phrases or terms used. 

Types of Clinical Trials

• Interventional Trials: Test a specific treatment or intervention, usually divided into groups for comparison, such as treatment, prevention, or screening trials.

• Observational Trials: Track outcomes in patient groups without intervention to analyze long-term effects or identify potential cancer risk factors.

• Descriptive Studies: Document cases or patient characteristics without altering treatment, offering a “snapshot” of unique situations.

Trial Types by Comparison Goals

• Equivalence Trials: Compare a new treatment to see if it is as effective as an existing option.
• Superiority Trials: Aim to show the new treatment is better than the current standard.
• Non-Inferiority Trials: Test if a new treatment is at least as effective as an established one, with potential added benefits like fewer side effects or easier administration.