(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Researchers appear to be winning the war
against cancer.
In a new study involving all of the phase III clinical trials conducted on
new cancer treatments since the National Institute of Cancer began
supporting such trials in 1955, researchers find new treatments are proven
effective about a quarter to a half of the time.
“Society has received a good return on its investment,” write the authors.
“The public can expect that about 25 percent to 50 percent of new cancer
treatments that reach the stage of assessment in randomized clinical trials
will prove to be successful. This pattern of successes has become more
consistent over time.”
A randomized trial is one in which patients are randomly assigned to care
groups and new treatments are compared with a placebo or standard care.
The current study involved 624 trials conducted since 1955. More than
200,000 patients were included in the analysis. While up to a half of the
trials ended up benefiting patients, in 15 percent of cases, researchers
identified breakthrough therapies, and in two percent, the death rate from
the cancer in question was cut by more than 50 percent.
SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2008;168:632-642
