Skip to main content

Survival Gains Seen With Assignment to Experimental Group in Cancer Trials

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on April 30, 2024.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 30, 2024 -- 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.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted April 2024

Read this next

Nudging Both Clinicians, Patients May Increase Serious Illness Conversations

TUESDAY, July 2, 2024 -- Combining clinician- and patient-directed nudges may help to promote serious illness conversations (SICs) in cancer care, according to a study published...

Perioperative Chemo Improves Progression-Free Survival in Pancreatic Cancer

TUESDAY, July 2, 2024 -- For patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the 12-month progression-free survival (PFS) may be increased with neoadjuvant...

Racial Differences Seen in Financial Hardship Among Older Cancer Survivors

MONDAY, July 1, 2024 -- Income and area-level disadvantage are the largest contributors to racial differences in financial hardship among older U.S. adults with cancer, according...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.