Randomization and Follow-up Care of Patients in a Breast Cancer Clinical Trial: Personal Experience

Abstract

I should like to report here on practical experience of my own resulting from daily clinical work and colored by local factors. I work in a medium-sized hospital on the southern border of the Federal Republic of Germany in a beautiful area which has a high density of physicians. We treat about 50 new cases of breast cancer in women a year. At present 45 patients are being treated or receiving care in the context of clinical studies. Our noncentral position makes it especially important for us to check our breast cancer therapy in order to carry out our work in accordance with modern standards and to assess it in comparison with the results of larger hospitals and centers. We can discipline our thinking and make a contribution to answering critical questions only on the basis of participation in clinical studies.