Medical clinical research slows for lack of patients
Saturday, March 14, 2009 - 00:28
in Health & Medicine
Enrollment shortages have delayed or canceled trials on experimental therapies. Researchers are trying to reverse that trend, in part by using databases to connect patients with possible new cures. A year ago, U.S. researchers launched what they deemed a high-priority study to determine if women with an often-fatal type of breast cancer could live longer by taking a specific combination of drugs. If the study found that to be true, the average rate of survival -- four years -- could be significantly extended.