Clinical Trials: To Terminate or Not To Terminate
Authors: James R. Gossage
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1992)

Letters15 April 1992Clinical Trials: To Terminate or Not To TerminateJames R. Gossage, MDJames R. Gossage, MDSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-116-8-699 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptTo the Editors: Laupacis and colleagues (1) are to be commended on their excellent analysis of the influence of completed studies on ongoing clinical trials. Their decision to stop the trial and perform the final analysis was ethical and courageous. "Aborting" a mission to which considerable time, money, and patient participation have been devoted is frustrating in many ways.Two points are worthy of further comment. They refer to the desirability of a "meta-analysis when different groups are evaluating a similar problem." However, different groups should not be evaluating a similar problem. Better mechanisms are needed to organize large multicentered...Reference1. Laupacis A, Connolly S, Gent M, Roberts R, Cairns J, and Joyner C. How should results from completed studies influence ongoing clinical trials? The CAFA study experience. Ann Intern Med. 1991;115:818-22. LinkGoogle Scholar1. Laupacis A, Connolly S, Gent M, Roberts R, Cairns J, and Joyner C. How should results from completed studies influence ongoing clinical trials? The CAFA study experience. Ann Intern Med. 1991;115:818-22. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Simberkoff M, Hartigan P, and Hamilton J. Ethical dilemma in continuing a zidovudine-placebo trial in symptomatic HIV infection. Clin Res. 1991;39:315A. Google Scholar3. Fischl M, Richman D, and Hansen N. The safety and efficacy of zidovudine (AZT) in the treatment of mildly symptomatic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) infection: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 1990;112:727-37. LinkGoogle Scholar4. Volberding P, Lagakos S, and Koch M. Zidovudine in asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus infection: a controlled trial in persons with fewer than 500 CD4-positive cells per cubic millimeter. N Engl J Med. 1990;322:941-9. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Pocock S and Hughes M. Practical problems in interim analyses, with particular regard to estimation. Controlled Clinical Trials. 1989; 10:209S-21S. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar1. Yusaf S, Peto R, Lewis J, Collins R, and Sleight P. Beta blockade during and after myocardial infarction: an overview of the randomized trials. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 1958;27:335-71. CrossrefGoogle Scholar2. Laupacis A, Connolly S, Gent M, Roberts R, Cairns J, and Joyner C. How should results from completed studies influence ongoing clinical trials? The CAFA Study experience. Ann Intern Med. 1991;115:818-22. LinkGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: James R. Gossage, MDAffiliations: Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN 37232-2650. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 15 April 1992Volume 116, Issue 8Page: 699-700KeywordsClinical trialsDecision analysis ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 15 April 1992 PDF downloadLoading ...