Term
NCT number
A trial's permanent identifier on ClinicalTrials.gov: the letters NCT followed by eight digits.
Every study registered on ClinicalTrials.gov gets an NCT number that never changes, whatever happens to the trial's name, sponsor or design. It is the reliable way to talk about a specific trial, which is why this site displays NCT numbers throughout and links each one to its registry record.
Sponsors also name trials with acronyms, and the same drug can appear in hundreds of studies. When checking a claim about a trial, match the NCT number, not the acronym.
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