TY - JOUR
T1 - Reporting of funding sources and conflict of interest in the supportive and palliative oncology literature
AU - Hui, David
AU - Reddy, Akhila
AU - Parsons, Henrique A.
AU - Bruera, Eduardo
N1 - Funding Information:
We found that less than half of all supportive/palliative oncology studies reported funding sources. This represents a significantly lower proportion compared with other disciplines, such as primary care, oncology, internal medicine/neurology, and psychiatry, in which 60%–80% reported funding. 5,22–24 Our finding that supportive/palliative oncology research appears to be underfunded raises serious concerns because high-quality studies, such as randomized controlled trials, often require substantial investment of research dollars. This is supported by our observation that funding reporting is associated with prospective trials and larger sample sizes. 14 Thus, the lack of funding could significantly impede vertical development in the field of supportive/palliative oncology. Contributions from government and philanthropic organizations are particularly important to minimize the potential conflict of interest from industry sponsorship and maximize the quality of study design through a competitive peer-review process. 25
PY - 2012/9
Y1 - 2012/9
N2 - Context: The reporting of funding support and conflict of interest has not been examined in the supportive/palliative oncology literature. Objectives: We examined the frequency of funding and conflict of interest reporting and various study characteristics associated with such reporting. Methods: We systematically searched MEDLINE PubMed, PsycInfo, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, and CINAHL for original studies related to palliative care and cancer in the first six months of 2004 and 2009. For each article, we reviewed the study design, research topic, journal type, and reporting of funding and conflict of interest. Results: Three hundred forty-four (41%) and 504 (59%) of 848 articles were from 2004 and 2009, respectively. Five hundred two of 848 (59%) studies reported no funding sources, whereas 216 (26%), 70 (8%), 34 (4%), and 26 (3%) reported one, two, three, and four or more sources, respectively. Key funding sources included governmental agencies (n = 182/848, 21%), philanthropic foundations (n = 163/848, 19%), university departments (n = 76/848, 9%), and industry (n = 27/848, 3%). Conflict of interest was not reported in 436 of 848 (51%) studies, and only 94 of 848 (11%) explicitly stated no conflict of interest. Other than extramural funding, conflict of interest reporting of any kind was extremely rare (mostly less than 1%). Conflict of interest reporting increased between 2004 and 2009 (39% vs. 55%, P < 0.001). Both funding and conflict of interest reporting were associated with prospective studies, larger sample sizes, nontherapeutic studies, North American authors, and publication in palliative care/oncology journals (P ≤ 0.008 for all comparisons). Conclusion: A majority of supportive/palliative oncology studies did not report funding sources and conflict of interest, raising the need for standardization.
AB - Context: The reporting of funding support and conflict of interest has not been examined in the supportive/palliative oncology literature. Objectives: We examined the frequency of funding and conflict of interest reporting and various study characteristics associated with such reporting. Methods: We systematically searched MEDLINE PubMed, PsycInfo, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, and CINAHL for original studies related to palliative care and cancer in the first six months of 2004 and 2009. For each article, we reviewed the study design, research topic, journal type, and reporting of funding and conflict of interest. Results: Three hundred forty-four (41%) and 504 (59%) of 848 articles were from 2004 and 2009, respectively. Five hundred two of 848 (59%) studies reported no funding sources, whereas 216 (26%), 70 (8%), 34 (4%), and 26 (3%) reported one, two, three, and four or more sources, respectively. Key funding sources included governmental agencies (n = 182/848, 21%), philanthropic foundations (n = 163/848, 19%), university departments (n = 76/848, 9%), and industry (n = 27/848, 3%). Conflict of interest was not reported in 436 of 848 (51%) studies, and only 94 of 848 (11%) explicitly stated no conflict of interest. Other than extramural funding, conflict of interest reporting of any kind was extremely rare (mostly less than 1%). Conflict of interest reporting increased between 2004 and 2009 (39% vs. 55%, P < 0.001). Both funding and conflict of interest reporting were associated with prospective studies, larger sample sizes, nontherapeutic studies, North American authors, and publication in palliative care/oncology journals (P ≤ 0.008 for all comparisons). Conclusion: A majority of supportive/palliative oncology studies did not report funding sources and conflict of interest, raising the need for standardization.
KW - Neoplasms
KW - conflict of interest
KW - funding
KW - literature
KW - palliative care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84865684856&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84865684856&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2011.09.016
DO - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2011.09.016
M3 - Article
C2 - 22771126
AN - SCOPUS:84865684856
SN - 0885-3924
VL - 44
SP - 421
EP - 430
JO - Journal of pain and symptom management
JF - Journal of pain and symptom management
IS - 3
ER -