How is best supportive care provided in clinical trials for patients with advanced cancer? A review of registered protocols of clinical trials.

We describe the characteristics of the trials, together with the definition and components of bsc. We analyzed how the trials met the standards and adopted the key components of bsc. Results: Of 193 trials retrieved, only 64 met the inclusion criteria; 36 of those trials (56%) had no definition of bsc. Less than 7% of the trials included even 3 of the 8 bsc standards that were defined to be included in the design of trials. Furthermore, trials mentioned only 5 of the 15 key components that the consensus defined to be fundamental, with symptom management appearing in 22% of trials and the other 4 components appearing in less than 8%. Summary: Most clinical trials registered during 2012-2018 that involved patients with cancer and an arm with bsc did not define the bsc concept. Hence, the design of those trials does not meet the consensus recommendations. PMID: 32489259 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Current Oncology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Curr Oncol Source Type: research