Positive spin put on many drug trials despite results, study finds

Not all patient drug trials published in even the most prestigious of medical journals can be taken as gospel, say researchers, who have found a high proportion of “spin and bias” in the reporting of results. In a review of 164 breast-cancer trials, researchers at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto found that reports of almost two-thirds of the studies that showed no real benefit of treatment focused on less important outcomes to give a more positive spin to results. Read more here.

Study mentioned: Vera-Badillo FE, et al. Bias in reporting of end points of efficacy and toxicity in randomized, clinical trials for women with breast cancer. Ann Oncol. First published online: January 9, 2013.