Experts on clinical trials met last week to share ideas about how to improve a system that has served the nation well for decades but needs to be modified and updated to meet the needs of patients and its many stakeholders.

A major theme of this workshop was that the reform must be global and include regulatory agencies, third-party payers, and funding entities, such as NCI and pharmaceutical companies, noted NCI Director Dr. John Niederhuber, who delivered opening remarks.  Read more  

Using androgen deprivation therapy alone in older men with localized prostate cancer does not improve survival outcomes when compared with a conservative management approach, according to a new analysis in the July 8 Journal of the American Medical Association. For localized prostate cancer, androgen deprivation therapy has become a common treatment, despite a lack of definitive evidence that it is more effective than other options, noted the study authors.

To conduct the study, the researchers, from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, used data from NCI's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program and linked Medicare files to compare the outcomes in men aged 66 and older, who were diagnosed with localized prostate cancer between 1992 and 2002 and had not undergone surgery. Of these men, nearly 8,000 received androgen deprivation therapy and approximately 11,400 were treated with conservative management, often called "watchful waiting."  Read more  

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