Biomaterial Database

How do you know you've done any better? 1975

M A Schneiderman

Three points are made in this paper. It is found that concurrent controlled randomized trials are most useful (especially Phase II trials) in speeding up the introduction of better treatments for cancer patients. A scheme of continuing comparative trials, proposed by Theodore Colton, which require no statistical significance tests, is strongly recommended. The "historical-controls" approach of Gehan and Freireich is examined and is largely rejected because it appears to be unworkable. It is urged that patient characteristics that are associated with good response be determined, for the process of giving each patient the optimal treatment for him. This is referred to as "the epidemiology of treatment." Two examples of how early uncontrolled results are misleading in evaluating potential cancer treatments are given.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009369	Neoplasms	New abnormal growth of tissue. Malignant neoplasms show a greater degree of anaplasia and have the properties of invasion and metastasis, compared to benign neoplasms.	Benign Neoplasm,Cancer,Malignant Neoplasm,Tumor,Tumors,Benign Neoplasms,Malignancy,Malignant Neoplasms,Neoplasia,Neoplasm,Neoplasms, Benign,Cancers,Malignancies,Neoplasias,Neoplasm, Benign,Neoplasm, Malignant,Neoplasms, Malignant
D012107	Research Design	A plan for collecting and utilizing data so that desired information can be obtained with sufficient precision or so that an hypothesis can be tested properly.	Experimental Design,Data Adjustment,Data Reporting,Design, Experimental,Designs, Experimental,Error Sources,Experimental Designs,Matched Groups,Methodology, Research,Problem Formulation,Research Methodology,Research Proposal,Research Strategy,Research Technics,Research Techniques,Scoring Methods,Adjustment, Data,Adjustments, Data,Data Adjustments,Design, Research,Designs, Research,Error Source,Formulation, Problem,Formulations, Problem,Group, Matched,Groups, Matched,Matched Group,Method, Scoring,Methods, Scoring,Problem Formulations,Proposal, Research,Proposals, Research,Reporting, Data,Research Designs,Research Proposals,Research Strategies,Research Technic,Research Technique,Scoring Method,Source, Error,Sources, Error,Strategies, Research,Strategy, Research,Technic, Research,Technics, Research,Technique, Research,Techniques, Research
D005069	Evaluation Studies as Topic	Works about studies that determine the effectiveness or value of processes, personnel, and equipment, or the material on conducting such studies.	Critique,Evaluation Indexes,Evaluation Methodology,Evaluation Report,Evaluation Research,Methodology, Evaluation,Pre-Post Tests,Qualitative Evaluation,Quantitative Evaluation,Theoretical Effectiveness,Use-Effectiveness,Critiques,Effectiveness, Theoretical,Evaluation Methodologies,Evaluation Reports,Evaluation, Qualitative,Evaluation, Quantitative,Evaluations, Qualitative,Evaluations, Quantitative,Indexes, Evaluation,Methodologies, Evaluation,Pre Post Tests,Pre-Post Test,Qualitative Evaluations,Quantitative Evaluations,Report, Evaluation,Reports, Evaluation,Research, Evaluation,Test, Pre-Post,Tests, Pre-Post,Use Effectiveness
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man