Abstract 90: The “reproducibility crisis” of animal studies in oncology - How did we get here, and how can we resolve it

Abstract

Abstract Historically, a large majority of clinical phase III trials fail to gain regulatory approval due primarily to a lack of demonstrated efficacy, demonstrating the challenge of conducting clinically relevant efficacy studies in laboratory animals. In 2012, Amgen researchers published their finding that an astoundingly-high proportion (90%) of more than 50 republished in vivo studies in oncology was not reproducible. This sparked an intense debate about data validity in preclinical sciences, and several reviews have been published in the last two years analysing this issue. A number of best-practice initiatives and resources have since been created along with the development of animal study workflow software applications and databases to address the causes of this significant, global problem in cancer research. Major sources of irreproducibility in animal research such as bias, suboptimal disease models, lack of controls, and most importantly bad documentation practices will be discussed. Several initiatives have resulted in practically-applicable concepts and publicly-available resources to address this issue, such as ARRIVE guidelines, PHISPS protocols and the N3R Design Assistant, will be described. Electronic spreadsheets have been the most prevalently-used tool to plan and conduct preclinical efficacy studies in oncology. The advent of animal study workflow software and database technology, designed specifically for in vivo oncology research, has seen increasingly widespread adoption in recent years in both academia and industry. By employing standardized and more detailed approaches to the processes documenting highly detailed study design, data collection, method and procedure descriptions and adherence, real-time monitoring of animal welfare parameters, standardized graphing, data analyses and report generation, measurement and task scheduling, as well as data preservation approaches, will be explored. Using some real-life examples, the advantages and disadvantages of preclinical study automation and the use of electronic spreadsheets will be discussed in the context of helping to resolve the animal study “Reproducibility Crisis”. Citation Format: Hannes Hentze, Eric Ibsen. The “reproducibility crisis” of animal studies in oncology - How did we get here, and how can we resolve it [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 90.