ACORI | Dictionary: $B

Background Therapy

Background therapy is the current medication that people routinely take as the standard of care for a particular condition or disease.

Balanced Study

A balanced study is a clinical study in which the various groups of participants have similar characteristics.

Baseline

Baseline refers to the general health status of participants at the start of a clinical study in terms of the disease or condition being studied. It provides a basis for assessing changes in subsequent assessments or observations.

Baseline Assessment

Baseline assessment refers to the general health status of participants at the start of a clinical study in terms of the disease or condition being studied. It provides a basis for assessing changes in subsequent assessments or observations.

Baseline Characteristics

Baseline characteristics refers to information collected at the beginning of a clinical study (for all participants and for each group or participants). This information includes demographics (such as race, sex/gender, ethnicity, and age) as well as study-specific measures (such as weight, blood pressure, etc.).

Basket Trials

A basket trial examines a medicine that targets a specific cancer mutation or biomarker. The same medicine is administered to a wide range of participants with different types of cancer that all have the same mutation or biomarker. Basket trials can often speed up the approval process for a new medicine. They are also effective for studying rare cancers.

Bias

Bias happens when clinical study investigators have a particular point of view or preference which prevents them from being impartial regarding how they approach measurement, assessment, procedures, or analysis. Bias can potentially have an effect on outcomes and thus discredit the validity of study results.

Biomarker

A biomarker is a measurable biological characteristic that can tell clinicians something about the person's health. For example, a biomarker for diabetes is blood sugar level. In addition to blood, biomarkers are also found in other body fluids and tissues and can indicate both disease and normal health. In cancer care, they can be used to match patients to targeted cancer treatments.

Biopsies

A biopsy is when clinicians remove tissue from a body and examine it to learn more about a person's health status. In cancer clinical studies, researchers use biopsies to better understand the status of a participant's disease and how the participant is responding to therapy.

Biospecimen/Specimen

A biospecimen is some portion of human biological material, such as a biopsy or a blood or urine sample, that clinician's use to better understand that person's health status.

Blinding

Blinding in clinical studies is when participants or investigators (or both) are unaware of who is receiving treatment and who is not receiving treatment. Single blinding is when only the investigators know, double blinding is when neither participants nor investigators know. This is done to reduce bias.

Branch

A branch is a group or subgroup of participants in a clinical study that receives a specific treatment, or no treatment, according to the study's design.

Bucket Trials

A bucket trial examines a medicine that targets a specific cancer mutation or biomarker. The same medicine is administered to a wide range of participants with different types of cancer that all have the same mutation or biomarker. Basket trials can often speed up the approval process for a new medicine. They are also effective for studying rare cancers.

Clinical Research Terms Glossary

Terms starting with B