MD Anderson Sells
Clinical Trials as Lifesaving Options
In a past series of blog posts on this site we’ve focused in
on MD Anderson’s aggressive framing of both cancer and clinical trials.
Their
take-no-prisoners, in-your-face declaration that cancer is on the run and they’re
hell bent to “make cancer history.”
Back in 2015 the Psychologist, Mark Hochhauser, an
expert on ethics and patient understanding of consent information, pointed out that
MD Anderson was also presenting clinical trials in a way that equated
Clinical trials = treatment
“[This] implies that research
is just another form of treatment, a perspective that creates problems for
bioethicists and researchers who are concerned about “therapeutic
misconceptions” that may mislead prospective subjects. Clinical trial research
and medical treatment are not the same.”
Fast
forward to last week (Jan 4 2017), in a letter to the NYT, the head of MD
Anderson, Ronald A. DePinho responding to a feature article about low
participation of minorities in clinical trials, called such trials “lifesaving
options”.
Hochhauser
wrote to me,
“This is
therapeutic misconception of the worst kind. My understanding is that most
oncology drugs do not save lives, but extend the cancer patient's lifespan by a
few months--often at great cost. “
What
we should all be aware of is that these “super claims” about clinical trials is
appearing simultaneously with the aggressive promoting of new cancer drugs such
as Opdivo -
“Opdivo is the first and only
immune-therapy, FDA approved, based on demonstrating
longer life for [these] patients.”
Where
does that leave the cancer patient, any patient?
What
percentage of clinical trials result in positive outcomes for patients?
What
happens when they don't?
What
are we talking about when a drug claims to extend life?
Are
we really ready to prey on some of the sickest patients with hype and half
truths? Is that what they deserve? Is that what we call "scientific progress"?
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