Work

Public access to protocols of contemporary cancer randomized clinical trials

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: Access to randomized clinical trial (RCT) protocols is necessary for the interpretation and reproducibility of the study results, but protocol availability has been lacking. We determined the prevalence of protocol availability for all published cancer RCTs in January 2020. We found that only 36.1% (48/133) of RCTs had an accessible protocol and only 11.3% of RCTs (15/133) had a publicly accessible protocol that was not behind a paywall. Only 18.0% (24/133) of RCTs were published in conjunction with the protocol on the journal website. In conclusion, few cancer RCTs have an accessible research protocol. Journals should require publication of RCT protocols along with manuscripts to improve research transparency.

Source: Trials

DOI: 10.1186/s13063-021-05382-7

Authors: Christopher Babu, Loren Mell, Nancy Lee, Kaveh Zakeri

Institutions: Weill Cornell Medicine, University of California San Diego, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Language: English

Topic: Academic Publishing and Open Access

Subfield: Information Systems and Management

Field: Decision Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,290