Friends of Cancer Research announced the publication of a commentary on the significance of pragmatic clinical trials in ESMO Real World Data and Digital Oncology.
PCTs evaluate the effectiveness of interventions in settings that more closely resemble real-world care, aiming to produce evidence directly applicable to clinical practice.
Recognizing the value that PCTs bring to oncology drug development, Friends has been actively working with stakeholders to support integrating pragmatic elements into conventional clinical trials.
Friends convened a working group to generate a white paper focused on PCTs at a 2023 annual meeting and continue to work with stakeholders to explore how pragmatic elements can be incorporated into clinical trials to enhance operational efficiencies and lead to better outcomes for patients.
While PCTs are not new, increased attention is being placed on how pragmatic elements can be integrated into conventional clinical trials to enhance equitability and ensure representativeness, thereby enhancing evidence generation and potentially supporting regulatory decision-making.
In oncology drug development, incorporating a hybrid approach to trials could also help accelerate the availability of new therapies and ensure the adaptability of research findings into clinical practice while still meeting regulatory standards.
