Taking part in clinical trials does not benefit cancer patient participants

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 23 Jan 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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Patients who take part in clinical trials do not seem to benefit from them, even though (beforehand) many think they will. There is hardly any proof that taking part in clinical trials alone will improve their outcomes.

According to researchers at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (USA) there is insufficient data (that trial patients have better outcomes).
v The researchers feel that patients should be told (more clearly) that the aim of the trial is not so much to benefit them (the patients in the trial), but others in the future.

Even though new drugs and treatments that patients receive during clinical trials are usually more effective than standard treatments, there is little evidence that patients benefit from other factors, such as more focused care and potential psychological boosts from taking part in the trial.

The researchers have said that evidence of better outcomes is sketchy. They also think that any evidence of better outcomes is probably due to the fact that volunteers are more upbeat (or of a certain age or social group). Any other improvements may only be the result of closer monitoring.

They came to this conclusion after reviewing 26 studies (14 of these had suggested patients benefited from taking part in the trials).

However, the researchers said that most were unreliable (as they were badly designed). They found that only nine had the same criteria for recruiting patients into the trial and non-trial groups (only three of these had trial participants that had better outcomes than non-trial participants).

Writing in The Lancet, the researchers said: 'In our review of the published work, we found little high-quality evidence to support the pervasive belief that cancer trial participation leads to improved outcomes.

'Showing a causal relation between trial participation and improved outcome is difficult.'

Dr Steven Joffe (lead researcher) said, 'Until more convincing evidence for a trial effect is available, recruitment messages to patients considering trials should focus on their contribution to advances in treatment.'

Less than 5% of adults with cancer take part in any clinical trials.

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