Evidence map›Paper›PMID 15693138›Full record

ReviewCancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII2005

Prospective clinical trials of biotherapies in solid tumors: a 5-year survey.

Alessandro Ottaiano, Ernesto Mollo, Giuseppe Di Lorenzo, Carmela Pisano, Massimo Di Maio, Emiddio Barletta, Matilde Pensabene, Romana Segati, Pierluigi Bullian, Guglielmo Nasti and 4 more

Open access · greenAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII, 2005. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Alessandro OttaianoDepartment of Medical Oncology, ULSS2, Santa Maria del Prato Hospital, via Bagnols Ceze, Feltre (BL), Italy. ale.otto@libero.it
Ernesto Mollo
Giuseppe Di Lorenzo
Carmela Pisano
Massimo Di Maio
Emiddio Barletta
Matilde Pensabene
Romana Segati
Pierluigi Bullian
Guglielmo Nasti
Jane Bryce
Stefania Scala
Giuseppe Castello
Paolo Antonio Ascierto
Hospital of Prato · ITFederico II University Hospital · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo review the content and quality of prospective clinical trials of biotherapies in solid tumors.

methodsData were collected from the literature between 1990 and 2002 on general study characteristics, patient and disease factors, study methodology, and factors related to completeness of reporting. Quality of phase II studies was evaluated by an ad hoc questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, contingency tables, and the chi-square test were applied.

resultsA total of 334 studies were selected, of which about three quarters were multicenter, with 42.5% reporting phase I, 42.2% phase II or I/II, and 11.9% phase III or II/III studies. Only 13.7% were randomized, and a study design emphasizing statistical analysis was lacking in as many as one third. The assessment of biological endpoints was stated as the primary or secondary goal in half of these studies. Melanoma (17.1%), renal carcinoma (11.1%), gastrointestinal neoplasms (11.1%), and lymphomas (6.3%) were the most studied diseases. Immunotherapies accounted for 182 studies; the remaining 152 reported other biotherapies. Patients with (1) advanced disease (P = 0.003), (2) heavily pretreated neoplasms (P < 0.0001), (3) poor performance status (PS < 2) (P < 0.0001), were more frequently enrolled in studies of biotherapy. Biotherapies were less frequently evaluated in phase III studies (7/152) compared with immunotherapies (33/182) (P < 0.0001). A statistical study design was more frequently identified in biotherapy trials (127/152) compared with immunotherapy trials (98/182) (P < 0.0001). Biological endpoints were less frequently evaluated in phase III studies in both biotherapies (100% no vs 0% yes) and immunotherapies (81.8% no vs 18.2% yes) (P = 0.01, for biotherapies; P < 0.0001, for immunotherapies). Phase I immunotherapy studies more frequently applied biological or molecular criteria for patient selection (41.1%) than phase II (29.3%) and III (3.1%) studies (P < 0.0001).

conclusionsThe very wide diversity in modalities of conducting and reporting clinical trials of biotherapies of solid tumors and the presence of some methodological pitfalls suggest that the methodological standards for conducting and publishing clinical trials in biotherapies should be improved to enhance the reliability of the body of published data.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsClinical Trials as TopicClinical Trials, Phase I as TopicClinical Trials, Phase II as TopicClinical Trials, Phase III as TopicHumansImmunotherapyNeoplasmsPatient SelectionProspective StudiesRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRetrospective Studies

Identifiers

PMID15693138
PMCPMC11034267
OpenAlexW1990488900

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.