'News stories regarding the latest in the world of medicine are often popular. After all, most people are interested in their own health and that of their family and friends.
But sometimes reports can be confusing. For example, one minute coffee seems good for you, and the next it’s bad for your health.'
Patrizia Furlan, Program Director, Journalism and Professional Writing, University of South Australia, explains the common problems in medical reporting and how the true meaning of medical research may get lost in translation: theconversation.com/essays-...
Included in the article is a useful definition of clinical trial phases:
Phase I clinical trial
Phase I trials test a new biomedical intervention for the first time in a small group of people (around 20-80) to evaluate safety.
Phase II clinical trial
Phase II trials study an intervention in a larger group of people (several hundred) to determine whether it works as intended, and to further evaluate safety.
Phase III clinical trial
Phase III studies examine the efficacy of an intervention in large groups of trial participants (from several hundred to several thousand) by comparing the intervention to other treatments (or to standard care), and to collect additional safety information.
Neil
Photo: Greater Crested Terns
Acalabrutinib exhibits comparable efficacy, superior safety to ibrutinib for CLL (finally!)
