Cancer Clinical Trials: Proactive Strategies


Book Description

Clinical trials remain the most important vehicle for improving the care of cancer patients. This text presents the fundamental components and challenges involving clinical investigations. Leading experts discuss the critical issues covering the spectrum of important topics from planning to application. The book has a foreword by Samuel A. Wells, Jr., MD, Professor of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, former Director of the American College of Surgeons and Founder of the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group.




Sharing Clinical Trial Data


Book Description

Data sharing can accelerate new discoveries by avoiding duplicative trials, stimulating new ideas for research, and enabling the maximal scientific knowledge and benefits to be gained from the efforts of clinical trial participants and investigators. At the same time, sharing clinical trial data presents risks, burdens, and challenges. These include the need to protect the privacy and honor the consent of clinical trial participants; safeguard the legitimate economic interests of sponsors; and guard against invalid secondary analyses, which could undermine trust in clinical trials or otherwise harm public health. Sharing Clinical Trial Data presents activities and strategies for the responsible sharing of clinical trial data. With the goal of increasing scientific knowledge to lead to better therapies for patients, this book identifies guiding principles and makes recommendations to maximize the benefits and minimize risks. This report offers guidance on the types of clinical trial data available at different points in the process, the points in the process at which each type of data should be shared, methods for sharing data, what groups should have access to data, and future knowledge and infrastructure needs. Responsible sharing of clinical trial data will allow other investigators to replicate published findings and carry out additional analyses, strengthen the evidence base for regulatory and clinical decisions, and increase the scientific knowledge gained from investments by the funders of clinical trials. The recommendations of Sharing Clinical Trial Data will be useful both now and well into the future as improved sharing of data leads to a stronger evidence base for treatment. This book will be of interest to stakeholders across the spectrum of research-from funders, to researchers, to journals, to physicians, and ultimately, to patients.




Envisioning a Transformed Clinical Trials Enterprise in the United States


Book Description

There is growing recognition that the United States' clinical trials enterprise (CTE) faces great challenges. There is a gap between what is desired - where medical care is provided solely based on high quality evidence - and the reality - where there is limited capacity to generate timely and practical evidence for drug development and to support medical treatment decisions. With the need for transforming the CTE in the U.S. becoming more pressing, the IOM Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation held a two-day workshop in November 2011, bringing together leaders in research and health care. The workshop focused on how to transform the CTE and discussed a vision to make the enterprise more efficient, effective, and fully integrated into the health care system. Key issue areas addressed at the workshop included: the development of a robust clinical trials workforce, the alignment of cultural and financial incentives for clinical trials, and the creation of a sustainable infrastructure to support a transformed CTE. This document summarizes the workshop.




The Drug Development Paradigm in Oncology


Book Description

Advances in cancer research have led to an improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms underpinning the development of cancer and how the immune system responds to cancer. This influx of research has led to an increasing number and variety of therapies in the drug development pipeline, including targeted therapies and associated biomarker tests that can select which patients are most likely to respond, and immunotherapies that harness the body's immune system to destroy cancer cells. Compared with standard chemotherapies, these new cancer therapies may demonstrate evidence of benefit and clearer distinctions between efficacy and toxicity at an earlier stage of development. However, there is a concern that the traditional processes for cancer drug development, evaluation, and regulatory approval could impede or delay the use of these promising cancer treatments in clinical practice. This has led to a number of effortsâ€"by patient advocates, the pharmaceutical industry, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)â€"to accelerate the review of promising new cancer therapies, especially for cancers that currently lack effective treatments. However, generating the necessary data to confirm safety and efficacy during expedited drug development programs can present a unique set of challenges and opportunities. To explore this new landscape in cancer drug development, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine developed a workshop held in December 2016. This workshop convened cancer researchers, patient advocates, and representatives from industry, academia, and government to discuss challenges with traditional approaches to drug development, opportunities to improve the efficiency of drug development, and strategies to enhance the information available about a cancer therapy throughout its life cycle in order to improve its use in clinical practice. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.




Guiding Cancer Control


Book Description

Throughout history, perhaps no other disease has generated the level of social, scientific, and political discourse or has had the degree of cultural significance as cancer. A collective in the truest sense of the word, "cancer" is a clustering of different diseases that afflict individuals in different ways. Its burdens are equally broad and diverse, from the physical, financial, and psychological tolls it imposes on individuals to the costs it inflicts upon the nation's clinical care and public health systems, and despite decades of concerted efforts often referred to as the "war on cancer", those costs have only continued to grow over time. The causes and effects of cancer are complexâ€"in part preventable and treatable, but also in part unknown, and perhaps even unknowable. Guiding Cancer Control defines the key principles, attributes, methods, and tools needed to achieve the goal of implementing an effective national cancer control plan. This report describes the current structure of cancer control from a local to global scale, identifies necessary goals for the system, and formulates the path towards integrated disease control systems and a cancer-free future. This framework is a crucial step in establishing an effective, efficient, and accountable system for controlling cancer and other diseases.




Global Clinical Trials Playbook


Book Description

Pharmaceuticals companies, biotech companies, and CROs, regardless of size, all face the same challenge of managing costs and operational execution associated with bringing a valuable drugs and devices to market. Because of timeline pressures and cost as well as the growing interest in "neglected diseases" and diseases affecting the emerging nations, clinical trials are increasingly conducted in emerging markets and developing countries where infrastructure, leadership, skilled personnel and a governance are at a premium. Working with academics, regulatory professionals, safety officers, experts from the pharma industry and CROs, the editors have put together this up-to-date, step-by-step guide book to building and enhancing global clinical trial capacity in emerging markets and developing countries. This book covers the design, conduct, and tools to build and/or enhance human capacity to execute such trials, appealing to individuals in health ministries, pharmaceutical companies, world health organizations, academia, industry, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who are managing global clinical trials. Gives medical professionals the business tools needed to effectively execute clinical trials throughout the world Provides real world international examples which illustrate the practical translation of principles Includes forms, templates, and additional references for standardization in a number of global scenarios




Virtual Clinical Trials


Book Description

Successful drug development relies on accurate and efficient clinical trials to deliver the best and most effective pharmaceuticals and clinical care to patients. However, the current model for clinical trials is outdated, inefficient and costly. Clinical trials are limited by small sample sizes that do not reflect variations among patients in the real world, financial burdens on participants, and slow processes, and these factors contribute to the disconnect between clinical research and clinical practice. On November 28-29, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop to investigate the current clinical trials system and explore the potential benefits and challenges of implementing virtual clinical trials as an enhanced alternative for the future. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.




Fulfilling the Potential of Cancer Prevention and Early Detection


Book Description

Cancer ranks second only to heart disease as a leading cause of death in the United States, making it a tremendous burden in years of life lost, patient suffering, and economic costs. Fulfilling the Potential for Cancer Prevention and Early Detection reviews the proof that we can dramatically reduce cancer rates. The National Cancer Policy Board, part of the Institute of Medicine, outlines a national strategy to realize the promise of cancer prevention and early detection, including specific and wide-ranging recommendations. Offering a wealth of information and directly addressing major controversies, the book includes: A detailed look at how significantly cancer could be reduced through lifestyle changes, evaluating approaches used to alter eating, smoking, and exercise habits. An analysis of the intuitive notion that screening for cancer leads to improved health outcomes, including a discussion of screening methods, potential risks, and current recommendations. An examination of cancer prevention and control opportunities in primary health care delivery settings, including a review of interventions aimed at improving provider performance. Reviews of professional education and training programs, research trends and opportunities, and federal programs that support cancer prevention and early detection. This in-depth volume will be of interest to policy analysts, cancer and public health specialists, health care administrators and providers, researchers, insurers, medical journalists, and patient advocates.




Exploring Ethical Problems in Today’s Technological World


Book Description

The pervasiveness of technology today has brought with it a bevy of ethical questions, many of which are difficult to answer. Average consumers place themselves at risk financially, professionally, and personally by everyday activities executed on computers and smartphones, and therein lies the responsibility of technologists and decision-makers to devise logical and ethical solutions. Exploring Ethical Problems in Today’s Technological World focuses on ethical dilemmas created by today's ever-changing technologies and how these issues have affected individuals, companies, and society. The book further explores key areas such as policies, abuses, consequences, and responsibilities of different technologies and their users. Covering topics such as hackers, smart homes, privacy, and social networking, this reference work is ideal for ethicists, computer scientists, policymakers, industry professionals, researchers, academicians, practitioners, and students studying ethics, law, security, human-computer interaction, and computer science.




Principles and Practice of Clinical Research


Book Description

Principles and Practice of Clinical Research, Fourth Edition has been thoroughly revised to provide a comprehensive look at both the fundamental principles and expanding practice of clinical research. New to this edition of this highly regarded reference, authors have focused on examples that broadly reflect clinical research on a global scale while including a discussion of international regulations, studies, and implications. In addition to key topics such as bioethics, clinical outcome data, cultural diversity, protocol guidelines, and "omic platforms, this edition contains new chapters devoted to electronic health records and information resources for clinical researchers, as well as the many opportunities associated with big data. Covering a vast number of topics and practical advice for both novice and advanced clinical investigators, this book is a highly relevant and essential resource for all those involved in conducting research. - Features input from experts in the field dedicated to translating scientific research from bench to bedside and back - Provides expanded coverage of global clinical research - Contains hands-on, practical suggestions, illustrations, and examples throughout - Includes new chapters on the international regulation of drugs and biologics, the emergence of the important role of comparative effectiveness research and how to identify clinical risks and manage patient safety in a clinical research setting