Position statement on ethics, equipoise and research on charged particle radiation therapy

The use of charged-particle radiation therapy (CPRT) is an increasingly important development in the treatment of cancer. One of the most pressing controversies about the use of this technology is whether randomised controlled trials are required before this form of treatment can be considered to be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of medical ethics 2014-08, Vol.40 (8), p.572-575
Main Authors: Sheehan, Mark, Timlin, Claire, Peach, Ken, Binik, Ariella, Puthenparampil, Wilson, Lodge, Mark, Kehoe, Sean, Brada, Michael, Burnet, Neil, Clarke, Steve, Crellin, Adrian, Dunn, Michael, Fossati, Piero, Harris, Steve, Hocken, Michael, Hope, Tony, Ives, Jonathan, Kamada, Tadashi, London, Alex John, Miller, Robert, Parker, Michael, Pijls-Johannesma, Madelon, Savulescu, Julian, Short, Susan, Skene, Loane, Tsujii, Hirohiko, Tuan, Jeffrey, Weijer, Charles
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical research
Charged particles
Clinical medicine
Clinical research
Consensus
Consensus Development Conferences as Topic
Ethical aspects
Ethical justification
Ethical Review
Ethics
Ethics Committees, Research - ethics
Evidence-Based Medicine
Experimentation
Health outcomes
Humans
Medical ethics
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
Neoplasia
Neoplasms - radiotherapy
Neoplasms - therapy
Practice Guidelines as Topic
Protons
Radiation therapy
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy Dosage
Radiotherapy, High-Energy - ethics
Radiotherapy, High-Energy - methods
Research Design
Research studies
Society
Studies
Therapeutic Equipoise
Treatment Outcome
Viewpoint
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Summary:The use of charged-particle radiation therapy (CPRT) is an increasingly important development in the treatment of cancer. One of the most pressing controversies about the use of this technology is whether randomised controlled trials are required before this form of treatment can be considered to be the treatment of choice for a wide range of indications. Equipoise is the key ethical concept in determining which research studies are justified. However, there is a good deal of disagreement about how this concept is best understood and applied in the specific case of CPRT. This report is a position statement on these controversies that arises out of a workshop held at Wolfson College, Oxford in August 2011. The workshop brought together international leaders in the relevant fields (radiation oncology, medical physics, radiobiology, research ethics and methodology), including proponents on both sides of the debate, in order to make significant progress on the ethical issues associated with CPRT research. This position statement provides an ethical platform for future research and should enable further work to be done in developing international coordinated programmes of research.
ISSN:0306-6800
1473-4257
DOI:10.1136/medethics-2012-101290