ESMO 2021 | Importance of real-world data in clinical trials

Janet E. Brown, BMedSci, MB BS, MSc, MD, FRCP, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, highlights the importance of real-world data in clinical trials. The inclusion of older, frailer patients in clinical trials is crucial, as they represent a key patient population who often have a poorer performance status and need effective, tolerable treatments. Dr Brown also discusses results from the STAR, PEACE-1 (NCT01957436), and STAMPEDE (NCT00268476) trials, presented at ESMO 2021, and predicts how far away we are from implementing these therapies as standard of care. These trials reported potentially practice-changing results about combination therapies, adjuvant treatments, and treatment breaks. This interview took place at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2021 congress.