A crisis in clinical research

J Immunother Cancer. 2024 Jul 11;12(7):e008520. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2023-008520.

Abstract

The clinical research pipeline is critical to ensuring continued development of novel treatments that can offer patients with cancer safe and effective options. Unfortunately, progress has slowed since the COVID-19 pandemic due to uncovered, systemic inefficiencies across critical processes. Towards initiating discussion on how to reinvigorate clinical research, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) hosted a virtual summit that characterized issues and formed potential solutions. This commentary serves to highlight the crisis facing clinical research as well as stimulate field-wide discussion on how to better serve patients into the future.

Keywords: clinical trials as topic; clinical trials, phase II as topic; clinical trials, phase III as topic; immunotherapy.

MeSH terms

  • Biomedical Research*
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy* / methods
  • Neoplasms* / immunology
  • Neoplasms* / therapy
  • Pandemics
  • SARS-CoV-2* / immunology