Oncology outpatient department in a tertiary care hospital. Ninety women 18 to 70 years of age with early-stage breast cancer who were diagnosed in 1990. Fifty-one of the women were treated through clinical trials and 39 were treated outside of clinical trials. The age of the patient and the stage of disease were important covariates. Our results provide a plausible mechanism for the observed survival advantage for participants in clinical trials in oncology.
Further study is called for.
If these results are confirmed, they have important implications for informed consent to participate in clinical trials and for clinical practice. Clinique externe d'oncologie dans un h pital de soins tertiaires. Une valuation plus pouss e s'impose.