US cancer patient survey finds few transparency concerns

A survey of US cancer patients, which found that the majority taking part in clinical trials did not care if the supervising physicians had financial ties to the drug's sponsor, has surprised medical ethics researchers. However, another survey of institutional review board members found that about one-third of them vote on issues in which they have a financial stake, breaching federal regulations.

A team lead by Ezekiel Emanuel and Lindsay Hampson of the Department of Clinical Ethics at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, interviewed 253 cancer drug trial patients at five centers across the USA. A substantial majority, 80%, described themselves as "not worried at all" that the doctor monitoring the trial might have a financial interest in the drug firm whose product was being tested. Asked about the possibility of links between the treatment center and the sponsoring company, 70% gave the same answer. The Washington Post also reported that a majority of patients considered it acceptable for medical researchers to own stock in the tested drug's manufacturer, receive royalty payments or consultancy fees. Most patients even reported they were more likely to participate in a drug industry-sponsored trial.