Clinical Trials

Tools (6)

Extracted live via the executor SDK.

• search_trials

  Search ClinicalTrials.gov database for clinical trials. This is the PRIMARY tool for finding trials.

  WHEN TO USE:

  • Finding trials for a disease/condition (e.g., 'What trials exist for lung cancer?')
  • Finding trials testing a specific drug/treatment (e.g., 'Find pembrolizumab trials')
  • Finding trials in a geographic area (e.g., 'Clinical trials in Boston')
  • General trial discovery and research questions

  USE DIFFERENT TOOLS FOR:

  • Detailed info on a specific trial by NCT ID -> use get_trial_details
  • All trials by a specific company -> use search_by_sponsor (or search_trials with sponsor=...)
  • Analyzing endpoints/outcomes -> use analyze_endpoints
  • Patient eligibility matching -> use search_by_eligibility

  QUERY SYNTAX (for condition, intervention, sponsor, location):

  • Boolean: 'cancer AND immunotherapy', 'aspirin OR ibuprofen', 'tumor NOT benign'
  • Exact phrase: '"breast cancer"' (with quotes)
  • Grouping: '(lung OR breast) AND cancer'
  • Synonyms are automatically included (e.g., 'heart attack' finds 'myocardial infarction')

  BEST PRACTICES:

  • Start with condition parameter for disease-focused searches
  • Add status=['RECRUITING'] to find active trials patients can join
  • Use phase filter for specific development stages (PHASE1, PHASE2, PHASE3, PHASE4)
  • Set count_total=true to know total matches (useful for: 'How many trials exist for X?')
  • Use page_size=50-100 for broader overviews, page_size=10 for quick lookups
• get_trial_details

  Get comprehensive details for a specific clinical trial using its NCT ID.

  WHEN TO USE:

  • User provides a specific NCT ID (e.g., 'Tell me about NCT04567890')
  • Need full eligibility criteria, endpoints, or locations for a specific trial
  • Following up on a trial found via search_trials
  • Answering detailed questions about a known trial
  • Verifying patient eligibility for a specific trial

  USE search_trials INSTEAD FOR:

  • Finding trials (this tool requires knowing the NCT ID)
  • Browsing trials by condition/intervention/sponsor

  WHAT THIS RETURNS:

  • Full eligibility criteria (inclusion/exclusion)
  • Study design and methodology
  • Primary, secondary, and other endpoints with timeframes
  • All study locations with contact info
  • Sponsor and collaborator details
  • Study dates and enrollment numbers
  • Results link if trial has published results

  NCT ID FORMAT: 'NCT' followed by 8 digits (e.g., NCT04567890, NCT00001234)

• search_by_sponsor

  Find all clinical trials sponsored by a specific company or organization. Functionally equivalent to search_trials(sponsor=...).

  WHEN TO USE:

  • Questions about a company's pipeline (e.g., 'What is Pfizer working on?')
  • Competitive intelligence (e.g., 'What cancer drugs is Novartis developing?')
  • Tracking pharma company portfolios and development programs
  • Finding trials from academic institutions (e.g., 'Mayo Clinic', 'NIH')

  USE search_trials INSTEAD FOR:

  • Disease-focused searches where sponsor doesn't matter
  • Finding trials by treatment name rather than sponsor

  EXAMPLES:

  • 'Pfizer Phase 3 trials' -> sponsor_name='Pfizer', phase=['PHASE3']
  • 'Moderna COVID vaccines' -> sponsor_name='Moderna', condition='COVID-19'
  • 'Active Merck oncology trials' -> sponsor_name='Merck', condition='cancer', status=['RECRUITING']

  TIPS:

  • Partial names work: 'Pfizer' matches 'Pfizer Inc', 'Pfizer Pharmaceuticals'
  • Set count_total=true to get total number of trials by sponsor
  • Combine with phase filter to see early vs late stage pipeline
• search_investigators

  Find principal investigators (PIs) and research sites conducting trials in a therapeutic area.

  WHEN TO USE:

  • 'Who are the leading researchers in Alzheimer trials?'
  • 'Find investigators at Mayo Clinic working on cancer'
  • 'Which sites in California are running diabetes trials?'
  • Site selection for planning new trials
  • Building investigator networks and collaborations

  USE search_trials FOR:

  • Finding trials themselves rather than investigators
  • When you need trial details, not investigator info

  WHAT THIS RETURNS:

  • Investigator names and roles (Principal Investigator, Sub-Investigator)
  • Institutional affiliations
  • Facility/site names
  • Geographic locations
  • Associated trial NCT IDs and titles

  TIPS:

  • Use condition parameter to focus on a disease area
  • Add institution to find investigators at specific hospitals/universities
  • Use location for geographic focus (city, state, country)
  • Increase page_size to 50-100 for more comprehensive investigator lists
  • Use investigator_name for direct name search via advanced query syntax

  ADVANCED: For direct investigator name search, use the investigator_name parameter which searches in OverallOfficialName and ResponsiblePartyInvestigatorFullName fields.

• analyze_endpoints

  Analyze primary and secondary outcome measures (endpoints) from clinical trials.

  MODES (provide ONLY nct_id OR condition, not both):

  1. Single Trial: Provide nct_id ONLY to analyze one specific trial's endpoints
  2. Aggregate: Provide condition ONLY to analyze patterns across multiple trials If both provided, nct_id takes precedence (single trial mode).

  SINGLE TRIAL MODE (nct_id):

  • Returns all endpoints for the specified trial
  • Useful for understanding specific trial design
  • Example: nct_id='NCT03661411'

  AGGREGATE MODE (condition):

  • Analyzes endpoints across many trials in a therapeutic area
  • Identifies common endpoint patterns and measures
  • Useful for protocol design and competitive analysis
  • Example: condition='diabetes', phase=['PHASE3']

  WHAT THIS RETURNS:

  • List of primary endpoints (main efficacy measures)
  • List of secondary endpoints (additional outcomes)
  • List of other endpoints (exploratory outcomes)
  • Most common measures across analyzed trials
  • Timeframes for each endpoint measurement

  EXAMPLES:

  • Single trial: nct_id='NCT03661411'
  • Phase 3 cancer endpoints: condition='cancer', phase=['PHASE3']
  • Recent diabetes outcomes: condition='diabetes', start_date_after='2022-01-01'
• search_by_eligibility

  Find clinical trials matching specific patient eligibility criteria. Use this for patient-trial matching and finding trials a specific patient might qualify for.

  DEFAULT STATUS: Only searches RECRUITING trials. To include completed, upcoming, or all trials, explicitly set the status parameter.

  WHEN TO USE:

  • Patient matching: 'Find trials for a 65-year-old female with diabetes'
  • Specific criteria: 'Trials requiring HbA1c > 8%' or 'BRCA positive trials'
  • Age-restricted searches: 'Pediatric cancer trials' or 'Trials for elderly patients'
  • Finding trials by inclusion/exclusion criteria

  USE search_trials FOR:

  • General disease/condition searches
  • When patient demographics don't matter

  ELIGIBILITY KEYWORDS TIPS:

  • Use medical abbreviations: 'ECOG', 'HbA1c', 'BMI', 'eGFR'

  • Search criteria text: 'prior chemotherapy', 'treatment naive'

  • Biomarkers: 'BRCA mutation', 'HER2 positive', 'PD-L1'

  • Lab values: 'creatinine', 'ALT', 'bilirubin'

  • ICD-10 codes indicate specific subtypes (E10.x=Type 1, E11.x=Type 2, etc.)

  • Disease subtypes matter: Type 1 vs Type 2 diabetes, HER2+ vs HER2- cancer, etc. EXAMPLES:

  • '65yo diabetic patient' -> condition='diabetes', min_age='18 Years', max_age='70 Years'

  • 'Breast cancer with BRCA' -> condition='breast cancer', eligibility_keywords='BRCA'

  • 'Recruiting trials for men with prostate cancer' -> condition='prostate cancer', sex='MALE'