Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30868737›Full record

ArticleThoracic cancer2019

Trends in endpoint selection and result interpretation in advanced non-small cell lung cancer clinical trials published between 2000 and 2012: A retrospective cohort study.

Cristina Fernández-López, Miguel Ángel Calleja-Hernández, Jaime Espín Balbino, José Cabeza-Barrera, José Expósito-Hernández

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Article in Thoracic cancer, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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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

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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Cristina Fernández-LópezDepartment of Pharmacy, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-4565-1283
Miguel Ángel Calleja-HernándezDepartment of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Clinical Management Unit (UGC), Virgen Macarena University Hospital, Seville, Spain.
Jaime Espín BalbinoAndalusian School of Public Health (EASP), Granada, Spain.
José Cabeza-BarreraDepartment of Pharmacy, Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada, San Cecilio University Hospital, Granada, Spain.
José Expósito-HernándezDepartment of Oncology, University Hospitals of Granada, Health Research Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA), Spain.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe objective of this review was to investigate trends in clinical trial design, specifically, the primary outcomes used, interpretation of results, and the magnitude of the benefits described in phase III controlled clinical trials in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

methodsSeventy-six trials published between 2000 and 2012 were selected from a total of 122 identified in a structured search.

resultsOverall survival (OS) was evaluated as the primary study endpoint in 50 (65.8%) trials, followed by progression-free survival (PFS) in 15 (19.7%), and other variables, such as toxicity, quality of life (QoL), and response rate in 11 (14.5%). Ten (66.7%) out of 15 clinical trials using PFS as the primary endpoint were published between 2010 and 2012. Median overall survival (mOS) was 9.90 months (interquartile range: 3.5) with an increase of 0.384 months per year of publication (P < 0.001). A statistically significant improvement in mOS was obtained in only 13 (18.8%) trials. A total of 41 (53.9%) studies concluded that the result was positive. Of these, only 16 (39.1%) showed a statistically significant benefit in OS. QoL was assessed in 46 trials (60.5%) and of these, 10 (21.7%) reported significant improvements.

conclusionsThese findings raise important questions about how clinical benefits are measured in clinical trials in advanced NSCLC. Appropriate clinically relevant outcome variables should be established and validated, and post-marketing studies should be requested by regulatory authorities to ensure meaningful clinical benefits in OS and QoL.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic AgentsCarcinoma, Non-Small-Cell LungClinical Trials, Phase III as TopicDisease-Free SurvivalEndpoint DeterminationFemaleHumansLung NeoplasmsMaleQuality of LifeRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicRetrospective StudiesSample SizeSurvival AnalysisTreatment OutcomeAntineoplastic AgentsNon-small-cell lung canceroutcome assessment (health care)quality of liferetrospective studysurvival analysis

Identifiers

PMID30868737
PMCPMC6449273

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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.