Subsequent anticancer therapy in patients randomized to placebo alone or best supportive care
Nearly half of patients in control arms of trials using inert comparators received subsequent active therapy, calling into question the appropriateness of these control designs. Inappropriate use of inactive controls may inflate treatment effects. Regulators and ethics committees should ensure justified comparator selection in vulnerable populations.
Authors
- Timothée Olivier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6936-5783)
- Christopher Rios (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5798-6742)
- Alyson Haslam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7876-3978)
Institutions
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- University Hospital of Geneva (CH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- European Journal of Cancer
- Published
- 2025-12-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2025.116148
- Primary Topic
- Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Arnold Ventures
- University of California, San Francisco