In general, greater certainty about the clinical benefit of a drug correlates with an increased time to achieve needed results — the best evidence can take years of careful follow-up. But an unnecessarily long time to market isn’t good for sponsors and patients alike. This is especially true for patients battling rare cancers: With many of these conditions lacking standard treatments, these patients often don’t have the time to wait for more concrete measures. In these cases, choosing the appropriate endpoint for a trial is crucial.
Read on for a rundown of the five major types of clinical endpoints in rare oncology and the best way to use them.