Abstract
6039 Background: The oncology drug development enterprise is highly resource-consuming, what has led to a straightening of the relationships between the pharmacy industry and researchers. Such interactions could interfere with the scientific validity of clinical trials and their interpretation by medical experts. Methods: We defined medical experts as authors of editorials of phase III cancer clinical trials published in high-impact oncology journals. We aimed to describe the frequency and types of self-reported conflicts of interest of editorial authors as well as investigate possible associations between their opinion stated in the articles and the presence of conflicts of interest. Eligible studies were editorials of phase III clinical trials of antitumor drugs or symptom management published from January 2007 to December 2009. Relevant data from the editorials and related trials were collected and each editorial conclusion was classified as favorable, neutral or unfavorable with respect to the experimental therapy. Authors’ conclusions were independently analyzed by two blinded authors. Results: 54 editorials and 54 related trials were eligible: 83% were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and 42% reported at least one type of conflict of interest (mostly consultancy fees and honoraria). Authors’ conclusions on the experimental therapy were neutral in 39% of editorials, favorable in 37% and unfavorable in 24%. With respect to phase III related articles, 93% were anticancer drug trials and more than half were positive trials. There was no significant association between editorial favorable opinion and self-reported conflict of interest of the editorial author (p = 0.224) or industry sponsorship of phase III trial (p = 0.251). Conclusions: Authors of editorials of phase III trial cancer trials were not influenced by self-reported conflicts of interest or trial sponsorship. Such findings reflect the transparency on the part of editorial authors and also the measures adopted by journals to improve the critical analysis of the cancer literature.
Published Version
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