Guides / Eligibility criteria
Eligibility criteria
Clinical trial eligibility criteria, explained
What inclusion and exclusion rules are, why they exist, and how the study team — not a website — confirms whether a trial is a fit.
ClinicalMatchMate helps organize public clinical trial and condition-resource information in plain language. It does not diagnose, recommend treatment, guarantee eligibility, or replace conversations with a clinician or research team.
Last updated: June 4, 2026 · Educational use only
What eligibility criteria are.
Eligibility criteria are the rules that describe who a study is looking for. Every trial has them, and they're written into the study protocol.
These rules exist for two reasons: to keep participants safe, and to make sure the study can actually answer its question. They're not a judgment about any one person — they describe the group a study is designed to learn about. Whether a specific trial is a fit is always confirmed by the study team, not by a website.
Inclusion vs. exclusion.
Inclusion criteria
Requirements someone must meet to be considered — for example, an age range, a specific diagnosis, a stage of disease, or certain prior treatments.
Exclusion criteria
Factors that may keep someone out of a study, often for safety — for example, certain other conditions, medications, or test results that could make participation risky or hard to interpret.
Factors studies often look at.
Criteria differ by study, but many trials weigh similar kinds of information during screening.
- Age and, sometimes, biological sex
- The specific condition, its type, stage, or biomarkers
- Prior and current treatments
- Other health conditions and current medications
- Recent lab results and imaging
- Overall health and ability to do daily activities
How fit is confirmed.
Reading a trial's criteria can give you a sense of whether it's worth a conversation — but it's only a starting point.
The study team does its own screening — reviewing your history, labs, imaging, and prior treatments — to decide whether a trial is appropriate. Even a trial that looks like a close match on paper may not be a fit once the team reviews the full picture, and that's normal. The most useful thing to do is save trials that look relevant and discuss them with your care team.
Frequently asked questions.
If I meet the listed criteria, am I in the study?
Why are the criteria so strict?
What if I don't fit a trial I'm interested in?
Sources & review.
Written in plain language by ClinicalMatchMate and grounded in public guidance. This page is educational and is not medical advice.
This page is educational and is not medical advice. Trial details can change and should be verified with the trial site or study team. Final eligibility and appropriateness are confirmed only by the study team.