Clinical Trials and P Values

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-189
Author(s):  
JOHN D. LANTOS
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Randomized Trials ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
P Values ◽  
Clinical Interventions

In Reply.— Here is the question: Are randomized trials so superior to other knowledge-generating techniques that we should not consider a fact to have been established unless it has been established by such a trial? If so, then the use of clinical interventions which have not been studied using randomized trials is wrong. if not, then we need to determine how such trials should be combined with other techniques, and how results of different techniques should be interpreted to lead to the best possible patient care, the incorporation of new therapeutic interventions into practice, and the timely discarding of techniques which are no longer sufficiently efficacious.

scholarly journals Metabolic Reprogramming by Reduced Calorie Intake or Pharmacological Caloric Restriction Mimetics for Improved Cancer Immunotherapy

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1260
Author(s):  
Erwan Eriau ◽  
Juliette Paillet ◽  
Guido Kroemer ◽  
Jonathan G. Pol
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Caloric Restriction ◽  
Malignant Tumors ◽  
Checkpoint Inhibitors ◽  
Metabolic Reprogramming ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Calorie Intake ◽  
Multiple Model ◽  
Autophagy Induction

Caloric restriction and fasting have been known for a long time for their health- and life-span promoting effects, with coherent observations in multiple model organisms as well as epidemiological and clinical studies. This holds particularly true for cancer. The health-promoting effects of caloric restriction and fasting are mediated at least partly through their cellular effects—chiefly autophagy induction—rather than reduced calorie intake per se. Interestingly, caloric restriction has a differential impact on cancer and healthy cells, due to the atypical metabolic profile of malignant tumors. Caloric restriction mimetics are non-toxic compounds able to mimic the biochemical and physiological effects of caloric restriction including autophagy induction. Caloric restriction and its mimetics induce autophagy to improve the efficacy of some cancer treatments that induce immunogenic cell death (ICD), a type of cellular demise that eventually elicits adaptive antitumor immunity. Caloric restriction and its mimetics also enhance the therapeutic efficacy of chemo-immunotherapies combining ICD-inducing agents with immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-1. Collectively, preclinical data encourage the application of caloric restriction and its mimetics as an adjuvant to immunotherapies. This recommendation is subject to confirmation in additional experimental settings and in clinical trials. In this work, we review the preclinical and clinical evidence in favor of such therapeutic interventions before listing ongoing clinical trials that will shed some light on this subject.

Adverse events and blinding in two randomized trials of hyperbaric oxygen for persistent post-concussive symptoms

2019 ◽  
pp. 331-340
Author(s):  
Susan Churchill ◽  
◽  
Kayla Deru ◽  
Lindell K. Weaver ◽  
Steffanie H. Wilson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Adverse Events ◽  
Hyperbaric Oxygen ◽  
Gas Flow ◽  
Randomized Trials ◽  
Symptom Improvement ◽  
Sham Control ◽  
Serious Adverse Events ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
To Receive

Safety monitoring and successful blinding are important features of randomized, blinded clinical trials. We report chamber- and protocol-related adverse events (AEs) for participants enrolled in two randomized, double-blind clinical trials of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) for persistent post-concussive symptoms clinicaltrials.gov identifiers NCT01306968, HOPPS, and NCT01611194, BIMA), as well as the success of maintaining the blind with a low-pressure sham control arm. In both studies, participants were randomized to receive HBO2 (1.5 atmospheres absolute, >99% oxygen) or sham chamber sessions (1.2 atmospheres absolute, room air). In 143 participants undergoing 4,245 chamber sessions, chamber-related adverse events were rare (1.1% in the HOPPS study, 2.2% in the BIMA study). Minor, non-limiting barotrauma was the most frequently reported. Rarely, some participants experienced headache with chamber sessions. No serious adverse events were associated with chamber sessions. An allocation questionnaire completed after intervention revealed that the sham control arm adequately protected the blind in both trials. Participants based allocation assumptions on symptom improvement or lack of symptom improvement and could not discern intervention arm by pressure, smell, taste, or gas flow.

scholarly journals High-cited favorable studies for COVID-19 treatments ineffective in large trials

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P.A. Ioannidis
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trials ◽  
Clinical Studies ◽  
Observational Studies ◽  
Randomized Trials ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Wide Dissemination ◽  
Highly Cited Articles ◽  
Highly Cited

Importance. COVID-19 has resulted in massive production, publication and wide dissemination of clinical studies trying to identify effective treatments. However, several widely touted treatments failed to show effectiveness in large well-done randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Objective. To evaluate for COVID-19 treatments that showed no benefits in subsequent large RCTs how many of their most-cited clinical studies had declared favorable results for these interventions. Methods. Scopus (last update December 23, 2021) identified articles on lopinavir-ritonavir, hydroxycholoroquine/azithromycin, remdesivir, convalescent plasma, colchicine or interferon (index interventions) that represented clinical trials and that had received >150 citations. Their conclusions were assessed and correlated with study design features. The ten most recent citations for the most-cited article on each index intervention were examined on whether they were critical to the highly-cited study. Altmetric scores were also obtained. Findings. 40 articles of clinical studies on these index interventions had received >150 citations (7 exceeded 1,000 citations). 20/40 (50%) had favorable conclusions and 4 were equivocal. Highly-cited articles with favorable conclusions were rarely RCTs while those without favorable conclusions were mostly RCTs (3/20 vs 15/20, p=0.0003). Only 1 RCT with favorable conclusions had sample size >160. Citation counts correlated strongly with Altmetric scores, in particular news items. Only 9 (15%) of 60 recent citations to the most highly-cited studies with favorable or equivocal conclusions were critical to the highly-cited study. Conclusion. Many clinical studies with favorable conclusions for largely ineffective COVID-19 treatments are uncritically heavily cited and disseminated. Early observational studies and small randomized trials may cause spurious claims of effectiveness that get perpetuated.

Targeting extracellular matrix stiffness to attenuate disease: From molecular mechanisms to clinical trials

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (422) ◽  
pp. eaao0475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marsha C. Lampi ◽  
Cynthia A. Reinhart-King
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Cellular Response ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor Β ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Target Tissue ◽  
Matrix Stiffness ◽  
Extracellular Matrix Stiffness

Tissues stiffen during aging and during the pathological progression of cancer, fibrosis, and cardiovascular disease. Extracellular matrix stiffness is emerging as a prominent mechanical cue that precedes disease and drives its progression by altering cellular behaviors. Targeting extracellular matrix mechanics, by preventing or reversing tissue stiffening or interrupting the cellular response, is a therapeutic approach with clinical potential. Major drivers of changes to the mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix include phenotypically converted myofibroblasts, transforming growth factor β (TGFβ), and matrix cross-linking. Potential pharmacological interventions to overcome extracellular matrix stiffening are emerging clinically. Aside from targeting stiffening directly, alternative approaches to mitigate the effects of increased matrix stiffness aim to identify and inhibit the downstream cellular response to matrix stiffness. Therapeutic interventions that target tissue stiffening are discussed in the context of their limitations, preclinical drug development efforts, and clinical trials.

Patient care and clinical trials in gynecological oncology: Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 5564-5564
Author(s):  
Sara Nasser ◽  
Christina Fotopoulou ◽  
Murat Guktekin ◽  
Desislava Dimitrova ◽  
Philippe Morice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Clinical Pathways ◽  
Trial Participation ◽  
Early Stage Disease ◽  
Gynecological Oncology ◽  
Cardiopulmonary Support ◽  
The Impact

5564 Background: This is a prospective international Survey to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the management of patients with gynecological malignancies from the multidisciplinary physicians' perspective, with particular focus on clincial infrastructures, and trial participation. Methods: The anonymous online survey consisted of 53 COVID-related questions. It was sent to all healthcare professionals in gynaecological oncology centres across Europe and the Pan-Arabian region from April 2020 to October 2020. All healthcare professionals treating women with gynecological cancers were able to participate in the survey. Results: A total of 243 answers were collected from 30 different countries. The majority (73%) of participants were gynecological oncologists from university hospitals(71%) with at least an Intensive care unit with cardiopulmonary support available at their institutions. Most institutions continued to perform elective surgeries only for oncological cases (98%). Patients had to wait on average 2 weeks longer for their surgery appointments compared to previous years(range 0-12 weeks). Cases that were prioritised for surgical intervention across all tumors (Ovarian, Endometrium, Cervical) were early stage disease (74%), primary situation (61%), and good ECOG status (63%). The radicality of surgery did not change in the majority of cases (78%) across all tumor types. During the pandemic, only 38% of clinicians stated they would start a new clinical trial. 45% stated the pandemic has negatively impacted the financial structure and support for clinical trials. 79% do not routinely screen patients included in trials for SARS CoV2. Overall, approx. 20% of clinicians did not feel well informed regarding clinical pathways for COVID-19 patients throughout the pandemic. The majority preferred regular updates and training via Webinars (75%), followed by tumorboards and interdisciplinary conferences (45%). 30% of clinicians stated that they are currently experiencing difficulties in providing adequate medical care due to staff shortage. Conclusions: Despite well-established guidelines for patient care and performing clinical trials in gynecological oncology, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted clinical research, and financial structures. Longer waiting times for operative interventions, less support for clinical trials and concerns regarding provision of adequate medical care and triaging patients are very real. This survey underlines the necessity for building robust emergency algorithms tailored to gynecological oncology patients in the future.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document