{"title":"Phase III Evaluation of Treatment Combinations in Three-Arm Trials.","authors":"Edward L Korn, Carmen J Allegra, Boris Freidlin","doi":"10.1200/JCO-24-01476","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Phase III trials that randomly assign patients to a control treatment (C), an experimental treatment (A), or a combination treatment (AB) should be designed with the goal to recommend the best treatment: AB (if it is better than A and C), A (if it is better than C, and AB is not better than A), or C (if neither AB nor A is better than C). However, this goal can be challenging to achieve with statistical confidence. We performed a survey of cancer trials published in five journals from January 2018 to May 2024 to assess the trial designs being used in this setting and found that three quarters of them did not have a provision for a formal comparison of the AB treatment arm with the A treatment arm, a possible shortcoming. A limited simulation evaluates two analysis strategies that incorporate an AB versus A comparison and is used to formulate some recommendations for designing these types of trials.</p>","PeriodicalId":15384,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Clinical Oncology","volume":" ","pages":"JCO2401476"},"PeriodicalIF":42.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Clinical Oncology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO-24-01476","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ONCOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Phase III trials that randomly assign patients to a control treatment (C), an experimental treatment (A), or a combination treatment (AB) should be designed with the goal to recommend the best treatment: AB (if it is better than A and C), A (if it is better than C, and AB is not better than A), or C (if neither AB nor A is better than C). However, this goal can be challenging to achieve with statistical confidence. We performed a survey of cancer trials published in five journals from January 2018 to May 2024 to assess the trial designs being used in this setting and found that three quarters of them did not have a provision for a formal comparison of the AB treatment arm with the A treatment arm, a possible shortcoming. A limited simulation evaluates two analysis strategies that incorporate an AB versus A comparison and is used to formulate some recommendations for designing these types of trials.
随机分配患者接受对照治疗(C)、试验性治疗(A)或综合治疗(AB)的 III 期试验,应以推荐最佳治疗为目标:AB(如果它优于 A 和 C)、A(如果它优于 C,而 AB 不优于 A)或 C(如果 AB 和 A 都不优于 C)。然而,要在统计置信度上实现这一目标可能具有挑战性。我们对 2018 年 1 月至 2024 年 5 月期间在五种期刊上发表的癌症试验进行了调查,以评估在这种情况下使用的试验设计,结果发现四分之三的试验没有规定对 AB 治疗组和 A 治疗组进行正式比较,这可能是一个缺陷。通过有限的模拟,评估了纳入AB与A对比的两种分析策略,并以此为基础制定了设计此类试验的一些建议。
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Clinical Oncology serves its readers as the single most credible, authoritative resource for disseminating significant clinical oncology research. In print and in electronic format, JCO strives to publish the highest quality articles dedicated to clinical research. Original Reports remain the focus of JCO, but this scientific communication is enhanced by appropriately selected Editorials, Commentaries, Reviews, and other work that relate to the care of patients with cancer.