The scientific impact and value of large, NCI-sponsored randomized phase III cancer prevention trials.

1541Background: The cooperative cancer research groups of the National Cancer Institute’s National Clinical Trials Network have a history of successful conduct of large randomized phase III trials of prevention for cancer. An important question for funding agencies is whether the conduct of large prevention trials provides strong scientific return on investment. Methods: We used study data from a single NCI-sponsored cooperative group (SWOG) over a 20-year period (1990-2009, inclusive). During this time, SWOG conducted two large prevention trials (the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial and the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial) and numerous treatment trials. Scientific impact for prevention and treatment trials was examined using citation analysis. Average annual citation counts were compared using t-tests. Scientific impact was also assessed as a function of trial costs. Results: Twenty-six treatment trials with 16,391 patients and two prevention trials with 54,415 patients were examined. The ...