11 ESMO 2021 breakthroughs: practicing oncologist's perceptions on data presentation

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Clinical Trials
• Evidence-Based Medicine

Background:

• The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2021 conference featured numerous randomized phase III trials.
• Many trials were presented as practice-changing, but with limited time for detailed methodology.
• Presentations prioritized results and conclusions over study background and methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate 11 selected potentially practice-changing reports from the ESMO 2021 conference.
• Assessed the comprehensibility of results based on provided patient and methods details.
• Investigated potential bias and the translation of results into clinical benefit.

Main Methods:

• Screening of 11 selected ESMO 2021 conference reports.
• Comparison of presented study designs with those registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.
• Analysis of allocation concealment, handling of censoring and crossover, and defined outcome measures.

Main Results:

• Discrepancies between presented and registered study designs were found in 2 out of 11 trials.
• Allocation concealment was inadequate in 6 out of 11 trials.
• Outcome measures and claims of study success were often unclearly linked to clinical benefit, with missing details on informative censoring and desirable crossover.

Conclusions:

• ESMO conference presentations are valuable for disseminating research but do not replace full peer-reviewed publications.
• Full papers are essential for a thorough assessment of results, clinical benefit, and impact on treatment guidelines.
• Further scrutiny of methodology and clinical relevance is needed for practice-changing claims.