The impact of clinical trials on the treatment of lung cancer.

A large number of clinical trials have been conducted in lung cancer, but very few surveys have attempted to assess their impact on actual clinical practice. A questionnaire was therefore designed to address this question, and, in addition, to collect information on the numbers of patients referred and entered into trials by radiotherapists and medical oncologists in 1991. The questionnaire was sent to all 295 radiotherapists and medical oncologists in the UK, and the response rate was 81%. The respondents had 12,640 lung cancer patients referred to them and entered 2352 of them into trials. These numbers indicate that only 40% of all lung cancer patients are referred to a radiotherapist or medical oncologist, and suggest that, overall, fewer than 5% are entered into trials. Large multicentre randomized clinical trials were widely quoted as having an impact, and participants in trials were more likely to adopt trial results into their practice.