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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2006;296:265-266.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Atlanta—While the value of including placebo groups in clinical trials is undisputed, whether and how to give placebos to patients with advanced cancer and to other terminally ill individuals is not so clear. Individuals with expertise in ethics, regulation, and clinical trial design weighed in on the question at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in June.

In the past, patients with advanced cancers were never given placebos in clinical trials. For one thing, using a placebo was not usually feasible in blinded studies because of the toxic effects of traditional cytotoxic agents. But now, with the development of molecularly targeted agents, there are reduced adverse effects that make it conceivable to randomize patients to a placebo in such trials. But ethical issues remain.

Including placebo groups in clinical trials testing new treatments for patients with advanced cancer or other terminal illnesses . . . [Full Text of this Article]

DESIGNING SOUND TRIALS