A new study has found that cancer patients partaking in clinical trials actually have too much hope that the experimental drugs will save their lives, according The Telegraph.

The research was performed on over 300 participants in cancer-related clinical trials. Researchers found that “almost half believed their tumors would shrink, with hopes rising after they discussed the trials with their doctors,” The Telegraph reported.

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In reality, Phase I clinical trials — the first experiments performed on humans after animal testing — result in cancer response rates of anywhere from 4 to 20 percent. Typically, patients in clinical trials have advanced diseases that aren’t responding to normal treatment. Because of this, the survival time of these people is sadly only around six months.

Lead researcher Dr. Udai Banerji said the study provided both positive and more sobering findings. On the plus side, they found that 84 percent of the cancer patients they studied were willing to experiment with new drugs. “This is good for current and future patients and cancer medicine in general,” Dr. Banerji told The Telegraph.

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The negative side? Dr. Banerji said “the high percentage of patients expecting their tumors to shrink was a sobering finding. This creates a challenge for healthcare professionals to manage expectations but to do so without being patronizing or dismissing human hope.”

The study’s findings were published in the American Cancer Society journal Cancer. The researchers hope that the results will lead doctors to improve patient information and consent forms.