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Bicer S, Hutchinson N, Feldhake E, Nelson A, Oliviero E, Waligóra M, Kimmelman J. Timing for First-in-Minor Clinical Trials of New Cancer Drugs. J Pediatr 2023; 263:113705. [PMID: 37657661 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2023.113705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To describe the delay for first-in-minor cancer clinical trials and its relationship with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. STUDY DESIGN We used ClinicalTrials.gov to create a sample of pediatric-relevant cancer drugs starting efficacy testing in adults from 2006 through 2011. We characterized the delay between first-in-adult efficacy trials and first-in-minor trials. We also assessed the proportion of drugs evaluated in minors that failed to gain approval, the proportions that were not evaluated in minors before receiving the FDA approval, and whether shorter delay was associated with larger effect sizes or greater probability of regulatory approval. RESULTS Thirty-four percent of the 185 drugs in our cohort were evaluated in minors; the median delay to clinical trials was 4.16 years. Of all drugs, 17% received the FDA approval, 41% of which were never tested in minors before licensing. Of the 153 drugs not attaining approval, 78% were not evaluated in minors. Earlier testing did not significantly predict greater response rates (P = .13). Drugs not attaining regulatory approval were evaluated significantly earlier (3.0 for drugs not approved vs 5.4 years delayed testing for approved drugs, P = .019). CONCLUSIONS New cancer drugs were typically evaluated in minors years after adult efficacy evaluation. This delay likely eliminated some drugs lacking desirable pharmacology before pediatric testing. However, some drugs that were eliminated may have had activity in pediatric indications. Approaches for prioritizing drugs for pediatric testing warrants further consideration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selin Bicer
- Studies of Translation, Ethics and Medicine, Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Nora Hutchinson
- Studies of Translation, Ethics and Medicine, Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Emma Feldhake
- Studies of Translation, Ethics and Medicine, Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Angela Nelson
- Studies of Translation, Ethics and Medicine, Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Elisabeth Oliviero
- Studies of Translation, Ethics and Medicine, Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Marcin Waligóra
- Research Ethics in Medicine Study Group (REMEDY), Faculty of Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kraków, Poland
| | - Jonathan Kimmelman
- Studies of Translation, Ethics and Medicine, Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
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Zhang Y, Chen D, Cheng S, Liang Z, Yang L, Li Q, Bai L, Li H, Liu W, Shi L, Guan X. Use of suboptimal control arms in randomized clinical trials of investigational cancer drugs in China, 2016-2021: An observational study. PLoS Med 2023; 20:e1004319. [PMID: 38085706 PMCID: PMC10715645 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The use of suboptimal controls in randomized trials of new cancer drugs can produce potentially unreliable clinical efficacy results over the current standard of care and expose patients to substandard therapy. We aim to investigate the proportion of randomized trials of investigational cancer drugs that used a suboptimal control arm and the number of trial participants at risk of exposure to suboptimal treatments in China. The association between the use of a suboptimal control and concluding statistical significance on the primary endpoint was also examined. METHODS AND FINDINGS This observational study included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of cancer drugs that were authorized by specific Chinese institutional review boards between 2016 and 2021, supporting investigational new drug applications of these drugs in China. The proportion of trials that used a suboptimal control arm and the total number of trial participants at risk of exposure to suboptimal treatments were calculated. In a randomized trial for a specific condition, a comparator was deemed suboptimal if it was not recommended by clinical guidelines published in priori or if there existed a regimen with a higher level of recommendation for the indication. The final sample included 453 Phase II/III and Phase III randomized oncology trials. Overall, 60 trials (13.2%) adopted a suboptimal control arm. Among them, 58.3% (35/60) used comparators that were not recommended by a prior guideline for the indication. The cumulative number of trial participants at risk of exposure to suboptimal treatments totaled 18,610 by the end of 2021, contributing 15.1% to the total number of enrollees of all sampled RCTs in this study. After adjusting for the year of ethical approval, region of participant recruitment, line of therapy, and cancer site, second-line therapies (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.7, 95%CI [1.2, 5.9]), adjuvant therapies (aOR = 8.9, 95% CI [3.4, 23.1]), maintenance therapies (aOR = 5.2, 95% CI [1.6, 17.0]), and trials recruiting participants in China only (aOR = 4.1, 95% CI [2.1, 8.0]) were more likely to adopt a suboptimal control. For the 105 trials with publicly available results, no statistically significant difference was observed between the use of a suboptimal control and concluding positive on the primary endpoint (100.0% [12/12] versus 83.9% [78/93], p = 0.208). The main limitation of this study is its reliance on clinical guidelines that could vary across cancer types and time in assessing the quality of the control groups. CONCLUSIONS In this study, over one-eighth of randomized trials of cancer drugs registered to apply for regulatory approval in China used a suboptimal comparator. Our results highlight the necessity to refine the design of randomized trials to generate optimal clinical evidence for new cancer therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yichen Zhang
- Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Dingyi Chen
- Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Siyuan Cheng
- Department of Medical Oncology and Radiation Sickness, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Zhizhou Liang
- Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Lu Yang
- Department of Medical Oncology and Radiation Sickness, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Qian Li
- Department of Medical Oncology and Radiation Sickness, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Lin Bai
- Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Huangqianyu Li
- International Research Centre for Medicinal Administration, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Liu
- Department of Pharmacy, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Luwen Shi
- Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
- International Research Centre for Medicinal Administration, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaodong Guan
- Department of Pharmacy Administration and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
- International Research Centre for Medicinal Administration, Peking University, Beijing, China
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Ouimet C, Hutchinson N, Wang C, Matyka C, Del Paggio JC, Kimmelman J. Large numbers of patients are needed to obtain additional approvals for new cancer drugs: A retrospective cohort study. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16138. [PMID: 37752147 PMCID: PMC10522579 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-42213-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Patients endure risk and uncertainty when they participate in clinical trials. We previously estimated that 12,217 patient-participants are required to bring a new cancer drug to market. However, many development efforts are aimed at extending the label of already approved drugs. Herein, we estimate the number of patients required to extend the indication of an FDA approved cancer drug. We identified all anti-cancer drugs approved by the FDA 2012 to 2015. We searched clinicaltrials.gov to identify all drug development trajectories (i.e., a series of one or more clinical trials testing a unique drug-indication pairing) launched after FDA approval for each drug. We identified which trajectories produced the following milestones: secondary FDA approvals, secondary FDA approvals achieving substantial clinical benefit in ESMO-MCBS, and recommendations in NCCN clinical practice guidelines. Using the total enrollment, we estimated the number of patients needed to reach each milestone. Forty-two drugs were approved by the FDA between 2012 and 2015, leading to 451 post-approval trajectories enrolling 129,548 patients. Fourteen secondary FDA approvals were identified, of which 4 met the ESMO-MCBS definition of substantial clinical benefit. Fourteen NCCN off-label recommendations were obtained. A total of 9253, 32,387 and 4627 patients were needed to attain an FDA approval, an approval with substantial clinical benefit on ESMO-MCBS, and an NCCN guideline recommendation, respectively. The number of patients needed to obtain a first secondary FDA approval was 16,596. Large numbers of patients are needed to extend the label of prior FDA approved drugs. Label extension after approval entails lower marginal costs for developers. However, extra knowledge available to researchers about a drug's safety and pharmacology after FDA approval does not appear to translate into reduced patient numbers required for developing new cancer applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Ouimet
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University School of Population and Global Health, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Nora Hutchinson
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University School of Population and Global Health, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Catherine Wang
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University School of Population and Global Health, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada
| | | | - Joseph C Del Paggio
- Department of Medical Oncology, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and NOSM University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada
| | - Jonathan Kimmelman
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University School of Population and Global Health, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada.
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Cliff ERS, Kesselheim AS, Feldman WB. Ensuring Ethical Postprogression Therapy for Patients in Randomized Trial Control Arms. J Clin Oncol 2023; 41:3984-3987. [PMID: 37343194 DOI: 10.1200/jco.22.02675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
@Eddie_Cliff et al explore the scientific & ethical reasons why patients randomized to the control arm of trials should 'crossover' to receive the investigational therapy if their disease progresses
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward R Scheffer Cliff
- Program on Regulation, Therapeutics and Law, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - Aaron S Kesselheim
- Program on Regulation, Therapeutics and Law, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
| | - William B Feldman
- Program on Regulation, Therapeutics and Law, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
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Arfè A, Narang C, DuBois SG, Reaman G, Bourgeois FT. Clinical development of new drugs for adults and children with cancer, 2010-2020. J Natl Cancer Inst 2023; 115:917-925. [PMID: 37171887 PMCID: PMC10407707 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djad082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/14/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many new molecular entities enter clinical development to evaluate potential therapeutic benefits for oncology patients. We characterized adult and pediatric development of the set of new molecular entities that started clinical testing in 2010-2015 worldwide. METHODS We extracted data from AdisInsight, an extensive database of global pharmaceutical development, and the FDA.gov website. We followed the cohort of new molecular entities initiating first-in-human phase I clinical trials in 2010-2015 to the end of 2020. For each new molecular entity, we determined whether it was granted US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, studied in a trial open to pediatric enrollment, or stalled during development. We characterized the cumulative incidence of these endpoints using statistical methods for censored data. RESULTS The 572 new molecular entities starting first-in-human studies in 2010-2015 were studied in 6142 trials by the end of 2020. Most new molecular entities were small molecules (n = 316, 55.2%), antibodies (n = 148, 25.9%), or antibody-drug conjugates (n = 44, 7.7%). After a mean follow-up of 8.0 years, 173 new molecular entities did not advance beyond first-in-human trials, and 39 were approved by the FDA. New molecular entities had a 10.4% estimated probability (95% confidence interval = 6.6% to 14.1%) of being approved by the FDA within 10 years of first-in-human trials. After a median of 4.6 years since start of first-in-human trials, 67 (11.7%) new molecular entities were tested in trials open to pediatric patients, and 5 (0.9%) were approved for pediatric indications. CONCLUSIONS More efficient clinical development strategies are needed to evaluate new cancer therapies, especially for children, and incorporate approaches to ensure knowledge gain from investigational products that stall in development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Arfè
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Claire Narang
- Pediatric Therapeutics and Regulatory Science Initiative, Computational Health Informatics Program (CHIP), Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Steven G DuBois
- Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Gregory Reaman
- Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA
| | - Florence T Bourgeois
- Pediatric Therapeutics and Regulatory Science Initiative, Computational Health Informatics Program (CHIP), Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Moyer H, Bittlinger M, Nelson A, Fernandez L, Sheng J, Wang Y, Del Paggio JC, Kimmelman J. Bypassing phase 2 in cancer drug development erodes the risk/benefit balance in phase 3 trials. J Clin Epidemiol 2023; 158:134-140. [PMID: 37028684 DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2023.03.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2023] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Drug developers sometimes launch phase 3 (P3) trials without supporting evidence from phase 2 (P2) trials. We call this practice "P2 bypass." The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of P2 bypass and to compare the safety and efficacy results for P3 trials that bypassed with those that did not. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING We created a sample of P3 solid tumor trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov with primary completion dates between 2013 and 2019. We then attempted to match each with a supporting P2 trial using strict and broad criteria. P3 outcomes were meta-analyzed using a random effects model with subgroup contrast between trials that bypassed and those that did not. RESULTS 129 P3 trial arms met eligibility and nearly half involved P2 bypass. P3 trials involving P2 bypass produced significantly and nonsignificantly worse pooled efficacy estimates using broad and strict matching criteria, respectively. We did not observe significant differences in safety outcomes between P3 trials that bypassed P2 and those that did not. CONCLUSION The risk/benefit balance of P3 trials that bypassed P2 is less favourable than for trials supported by P2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Moyer
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Merlin Bittlinger
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Angela Nelson
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Luciano Fernandez
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jacky Sheng
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Yuetong Wang
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Joseph C Del Paggio
- Department of Medical Oncology, Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jonathan Kimmelman
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
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MacPherson A, Gumnit E, Ouimet C, Hutchinson N, Kieburtz K, Pearson TS, Kimmelman J. Quantifying Patient Investment in Novel Neurological Drug Development. Neurotherapeutics 2022; 19:1507-1513. [PMID: 35764764 PMCID: PMC9606150 DOI: 10.1007/s13311-022-01259-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
Abstract
While the drug development literature provides numerous estimates of the financial costs to bring a new drug to market, the investment of patient-participants in the research process has not been described. Trial participants and their caregivers, like companies, invest time and undertake risk when they participate in prelicense trials. We determined the average number of patient-participants needed to develop a novel neurological drug. We created a cohort of 108 unapproved drugs first tested for efficacy between 2006 and 2011 and used ClinicalTrials.gov to capture enrollment in all subsequent prelicense trials of these drugs over a 9-year period. Our primary outcome was the average number of patients enrolled in prelicense neurological drug trials per drug that ultimately attained FDA approval, including patients who participated in both successful and unsuccessful development efforts. Five drugs (4.6%) were FDA approved, and 66,751 patient-participants were enrolled across successful and unsuccessful drug development efforts, resulting in an average of 13,350 patients for each drug attaining approval (95% CI 7155 to 54,954). Our estimates reveal the substantial amount patients and their caregivers contribute to private drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda MacPherson
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University School of Population and Global Health, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1 Canada
| | - Elias Gumnit
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University School of Population and Global Health, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1 Canada
| | - Charlotte Ouimet
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University School of Population and Global Health, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1 Canada
| | - Nora Hutchinson
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University School of Population and Global Health, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1 Canada
| | - Karl Kieburtz
- Department of Neurology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY USA
| | - Toni S. Pearson
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO USA
| | - Jonathan Kimmelman
- Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy, McGill University School of Population and Global Health, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1 Canada
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Reoma LB, Karp BI. The Human Cost: Patient Contribution to Clinical Trials in Neurology. Neurotherapeutics 2022; 19:1503-1506. [PMID: 36083396 PMCID: PMC9606162 DOI: 10.1007/s13311-022-01292-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Drug development abounds with corporate pharmaceutical capital investment and expenditure costs for new therapeutics. However, there is little data on the human investment, in particular, the number of participants required or the potential burden on and cost to individual trial participants so instrumental to this endeavor. Indeed, the human participant burden in clinical trials is poorly, if at all, described in the literature and we could identify no reports that have detailed the participant burden unique to neurology trials. The cost of clinical trials to participants, including the unique circumstances affecting enrollment of diverse participant populations, has only begun to be reflected in the wider clinical trial literature. Additionally, details of the indirect costs, including time commitment, out-of-pocket expenses, emotional expenditure, and potential loss of enrollment into a more successful trial by participants in trials that fail - the majority in the field - is also particularly striking in the lack of representation in the literature. Even in successful clinical trials, participants in the placebo group face both an emotional burden and medical risk of morbidity and mortality without potential offsetting therapeutic benefit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren B. Reoma
- Clinical Trials Unit, Office of the Clinical Director, Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Neurological, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892 USA
| | - Barbara Illowsky Karp
- Division of Clinical Research, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, MD 20892 Bethesda, USA
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Doussau A, Agarwal I, Fojo T, Tannock IF, Grady C. Design of placebo-controlled randomized trials of anticancer agents: Ethical considerations based on a review of published trials. Clin Trials 2021; 18:690-698. [PMID: 34693757 DOI: 10.1177/17407745211052474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Limited information exists about the design of placebo-controlled cancer trials. Through a systematic review of trials published in 2013, we describe placebo use in randomized trials testing anticancer agents and analyze strategies that increase exposure to the experimental regimen. METHODS Trials were classified as add-on (placebo in combination with standard treatment) or placebo-only. Strategies to allow more than half of the participants to receive the experimental regimen were reviewed. The risk-benefit ratio of receiving the experimental agent was considered favorable if the difference in primary outcome was significant (p ≤ 0.05), neutral if there was no significant difference in the primary outcome and the experimental agent did not add substantial toxicity, and unfavorable otherwise. RESULTS Eighty trials were included (32,694 participants). Most trials were add-on (69%). The risk-benefit outcome was favorable, neutral, and unfavorable to the experimental agent in 52%, 32%, and 16% of placebo-only trials and 25%, 53%, and 22%, respectively, of add-on trials. Four strategies increased exposure to the experimental regimen: one-way crossover (23%), uneven randomization (21%), three-arms (13%), and randomized discontinuation design (4%); these strategies were used more often in placebo-only trials. CONCLUSION A minority of participants received placebo alone and strategies to increase experimental exposure were used commonly. Fewer than half of the studies had favorable outcomes, thus defending the use of placebo controls, when there is no established treatment. Strategies that increase patient exposure to experimental agents rather than placebo may expose them to non-beneficial, sometimes toxic, experimental agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adélaïde Doussau
- Department of Bioethics, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.,St. Mary's Research Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Isha Agarwal
- Department of Bioethics, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Tito Fojo
- Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Columbia University in the City of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ian F Tannock
- Princess Margaret Cancer Center and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Christine Grady
- Department of Bioethics, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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