Background <p> Trial designs are one of the important topics for drug developers. Technical understanding of adaptive dose-finding trial designs is beneficial to clinical pharmacologists as they can gain a new perspective for effectively using their expertise skills and making their contributions visible in a drug development process. However, there is no introductory review paper on dose-finding adaptive designs available for clinical pharmacologists since trial design publications in statistical journals often do not primarily focus on the practical considerations of clinical pharmacologists. </p> Objective <p> This short article reviews standard dose-finding adaptive designs that are typically employed in oncology clinical trials for clinical pharmacologists and non-statisticians. </p> Results <p> Standard dose-finding adaptive designs are described without mathematical equations, and basic concepts of model-based designs vs. model-assisted designs are provided in contrast to rule-based designs. Clinical pharmacology (CP) considerations for selecting an adaptive design, regarding objectives and endpoints, safety constraints, linear assumptions, and pre-specification of unknown dose/exposure-response relationships are described. A list of potential design inputs and impact is provided from a clinical pharmacology perspective.</p> Conclusion <p> Familiarizing themselves with adaptive trial designs will help clinical pharmacologists and non-statisticians to well prepare for drug development collaboration in a cross-functional team setting. Proactively getting involved in choosing a trial design will contribute to successful dose-finding in oncology drug development.</p>