Approved treatment
Licensed by China’s regulator for a defined use. You pay the hospital for it, and its benefits and risks for that use are known. Whether a hospital accepts foreign patients is confirmed case by case.
Clinical trials in China: understanding your options
Chinese hospitals and research teams run clinical studies of new cancer drugs, cell therapies, gene therapies and medical technologies. Trials test whether a new treatment is safe and works, and many experimental treatments turn out no better than existing care.
What we do, and what we don’t
We can help you organize your medical records, find publicly registered studies that may be relevant, and send enquiries to the authorized research teams.
We do not run trials, choose participants, hold places or guarantee treatment. Only the study’s sponsor and investigators decide who can join.
Can patients from abroad take part?
Sometimes, but nobody has a right to join. A study listed as recruiting in China is not an invitation. Some studies accept only Chinese residents; others need repeated visits, local tests, a pause in other treatment or a long stay.
A trial or an approved treatment?
Clinical trial
Research to find out whether a treatment works. The research team decides who can join, the treatment may not work, and visits and costs follow the study rules. It is not a way to buy early access.
Five questions every trial must pass
Medical fit
Your diagnosis, stage, genetic markers, previous treatment and general health must match the study protocol.
Real access
The site is recruiting now, has space, and accepts foreign passport holders who can give informed consent in a language they understand.
Safety
The site can manage serious side effects, such as cytokine release syndrome after cell therapy, and aftercare is planned.
Costs
A written breakdown of what the sponsor pays and what you pay: hospital stay, tests, travel, accommodation and treatment of complications.
Continuity
How long you must stay in China, how many return visits are needed, and how your doctor at home stays involved.
How an enquiry works
Tell us about your condition
A short summary of the diagnosis and what you are looking for. Please don’t send full records until we have explained our secure process.
Registry search
We identify registered studies and prepare questions for the research centre. This is information only, not a medical assessment.
The research team replies
Only the investigator or sponsor can confirm recruitment, eligibility, rules for foreign patients and costs.
Decide with your doctors
Go through the uncertainties, alternatives, risks, costs and follow-up with your own specialist before any travel.
Study phases in brief
- Phase I mainly tests safety and dose. Any benefit is uncertain.
- Phase II gathers more safety data and early signs of effect in a selected group.
- Phase III compares the new treatment with standard care in larger numbers of people.
- “Recruiting” is an administrative status in a registry. It is not a recommendation or evidence that a treatment works.
Is a trial free?
Some sponsors pay for the investigational treatment and research-only tests. That does not mean consultations, hospital stays, travel, accommodation or treatment of complications are free. Always get the details in writing for the specific study.
Study listings change and may be out of date. Sino Health Link is not a trial sponsor, site, investigator or medical provider. We do not guarantee eligibility, enrollment, funding or results. Do not stop established treatment to pursue a trial without advice from your medical team.
Sino Health Link is an independent coordination service, not a hospital. We do not diagnose, prescribe or treat. Licensed doctors make all medical recommendations and decisions with you.