Survival Gains Seen With Assignment to Experimental Group in Cancer Trials

TUESDAY, April 30, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with solid tumors, assignment to an experimental group in trials of investigational drugs yields significant survival gains, according to a review published online April 30 in the Annuals of Internal Medicine.

Renata Iskander, from McGill University in Montreal, and colleagues estimated progression-free survival and overall survival advantage of assignment to experimental groups in randomized trials of investigational drugs for six solid tumors. A total of 128 trials with 141 comparisons of a new drug and comparator were included in the sample, with 47,050 patients.

The researchers found that the pooled hazard ratio was 0.80 for progression-free survival, indicating significant benefit for patients in experimental groups and corresponding to a median progression-free survival advantage of 1.25 months. For overall survival, the pooled hazard ratio was 0.92, corresponding to a 1.18-month increase in survival. The absolute risk for a serious adverse event was 29.56 percent for comparator group patients compared with a 7.40 percent increase in risk for patients in experimental groups.

"Our findings provide a reassuring picture of current practices in drug regulation and research and can also help inform decisions about patient referral to trials, research policy, and consent discussions," the authors write.

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