- Patients are being put at risk because of the secrecy
of drug companies which refuse to publish the results of clinical trials,
it was claimed today.
-
- New research suggests that data from more than a quarter
of cancer trials may never reach the public domain.
-
- In many cases the results are hidden, either to stop
commercial rivals learning too much or because the findings are negative,
say experts.
-
- Experts from the Cancer Research UK charity today said
they were worried about doctors and surgeons being hampered by the inaccessibility
of trial data.
-
- Secrecy could also lead to the unnecessary duplication
of research, wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds, they said.
-
- Dr Richard Sullivan, head of clinical programmes at Cancer
Research UK, said: ìThe medical community needs to know the results
of clinical trials to be able to view the entire picture of how a treatment
works, how it compares to other therapies and what choices could serve
patients best.
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- ìItís disturbing to think that important
information on clinical trials is being left to gather dust.î
-
- One study looked at 500 cancer trials and found that
26% had failed to publish their full results five years after presenting
early data at a leading American conference.
-
- Trial investigators cited lack of time and shortage of
funds as their main reasons for not publishing.
-
- But Dr Sullivan said there was a perception among drug
companies that publishing early data might help the competition.
-
- His colleague, Professor Fran Balkwill, head of translational
oncology at the Cancer Research UK Clinical Centre in London, whose job
is to transfer basic discoveries to the clinic, said: ìAll scientists,
whether clinical or not, have a responsibility to make sure their data
is accessible to the wider community.î
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- The two charity experts voiced their concerns today at
the British Association Festival of Science at the University of Exeter
in Devon.
-
- They said a comprehensive database of all clinical trials
was needed to monitor research progress and ensure information was published.
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- Dr Sullivan said it was not possible to make any predictions
about lives lost because of missing data.
-
- But he cited the example of the 20,000 to 26,000 people
in Britain receiving chemotherapy for lung cancer. About a quarter of them
were likely to be receiving sub-standard treatment, he said.
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- Dr Sullivan added: ìWeíre entering an era
of increasing complexity when treating patients.
-
- ìEvery piece of information is going to be hugely
valuable. The days when there was lots of wasted information in clinical
trials that didnít really matter are gone.î
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- Ý©2004 Scotsman.com http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3463693
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