Commercial, rather than patient interests, often drive cancer care and research and patients deserve better, argue a group of global oncologists and patient advocates in a Comment published in The Lancet Oncology journal. The authors also establish core guidelines for the development of a new patient-centred movement in cancer care - Common Sense Oncology.
The Comment says there has been a shift over the past few decades from predominantly publicly funded clinical trials designed to answer questions important to patients, to industry-funded trials which aim to achieve regulatory approval or commercial advantage.
The authors claim industry’s control of the research agenda has created a system that is predominantly focused on new cancer medicines at the expense of investigating new approaches to surgery, radiotherapy, palliative care, and prevention.
The Comment also highlights how a substantial proportion of industry revenue is used for marketing campaigns aimed at influencing patients, policy-makers, and oncologists irrespective of clinical need.
Common Sense Oncology, the new movement launched with the publication of the Comment, aims to ensure that cancer care and innovation is focused on outcomes that matter to patients rather than the commercial bottom line. The authors hope to educate and empower the next generation of oncologists to push the field to do better for patients via three key areas:
- Ensuring clinical trials use and report outcomes that matter to patients
- Fostering critical thinking among oncologists to make sound clinical decisions aligned with outcomes that matter to patients
- Improving patient, public, and policy-maker understanding of cancer treatment options
Prof Christopher Booth, Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, says, “While many cancer treatments make a real difference in the lives of our patients, there are growing concerns that some new treatments do not help patients live longer or feel better. Common Sense Oncology is a global initiative that prioritises people over profits and promotes shared decision-making with patients. Our Vision is that patients have access to cancer treatments that provide meaningful improvements in outcomes that matter – irrespective of where they live.”
Journal
The Lancet Oncology
Method of Research
Commentary/editorial
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Common Sense Oncology: outcomes that matter
Article Publication Date
16-Jul-2023
COI Statement
AG reports consulting fees from Seattle Genetics and speaking honoraria from Curio. BW reports research funding from Bristol Myers Squibb, Ontario Institute of Cancer Research, Queen’s University, National Breast Cancer Foundation of Australia, and the Kidney Cancer Research Network of Canada; and honoraria from AstraZeneca. WvdG reports institutional research grants from Eli Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, and SpringworksTx; and institutional consulting fees from SpringworksTx, PTC Therapeutics, and Agenus. ES-P-d-C reports speaking honoraria from Lactrealis and is on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. SS reports travel support from Queen’s University. FYM reports consulting fees from Cancer em foco, AstraZeneca, and IASLC. BLM reports speaking honoraria from Servier Pharmaceuticals. SB reports honoraria for advisory boards from Taiho, Astellas, Merck, and Amgen. DG reports consulting fees from Vivio Health; stock ownership in TailorMed and Vivio Health; and serves as Board Member of Optimal Cancer Care Alliance. BG reports consulting fees from Vivio Health. KH reports research support from Pfizer. DK reports speaking honoraria from Amgen and MSD. KK reports consulting fees from Vivio Health and stock ownership in Vivio Health and Cadex Genomics. DC is the Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Oncology. All other authors declare no competing interests. The opinions expressed by the authors are their own and this material should not be interpreted as representing the official viewpoint of the US Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, or the National Cancer Institute