Cancer is a dreaded disease. One in two people will be diagnosed with cancer within their lifetime. Medical Statistics for Cancer Studies shows how cancer data can be analysed in a variety of ways, covering cancer clinical trial data, epidemiological data, biological data, and genetic data. It gives some background in cancer biology and genetics, followed by detailed overviews of survival analysis, clinical trials, regression analysis, epidemiology, meta-analysis, biomarkers, and cancer informatics. It includes lots of examples using real data from the author’s many years of experience working in a cancer clinical trials unit. Features: A broad and accessible overview of statistical methods in cancer research Necessary background in cancer biology and genetics Details of statistical methodology with minimal algebra Many examples using real data from cancer clinical trials Appendix giving statistics revision.

This book focuses on public health and epidemiologic aspects of cancer, and explores the sources of information concerning the frequency of occurrence of human cancer. It describes statistical methods useful in studying problems arising in the field of cancer and its concurrent development.

This work explains the purpose of statistical methods in medical studies and analyzes the statistical techniques used by clinical investigators, with special emphasis on studies published in "The New England Journal of Medicine". It clarifies fundamental concepts of statistical design and analysis, and facilitates the understanding of research results.

Many new challenges have arisen in the area of oncology clinical trials. New cancer therapies are often based on cytostatic or targeted agents, which pose new challenges in the design and analysis of all phases of trials. The literature on adaptive trial designs and early stopping has been exploding. Inclusion of high-dimensional data and imaging techniques have become common practice, and statistical methods on how to analyse such data have been refined in this area. A compilation of statistical topics relevant to these new advances in cancer research, this third edition of Handbook of Statistics in Clinical Oncology focuses on the design and analysis of oncology clinical trials and translational research. Addressing the many challenges that have arisen since the publication of its predecessor, this third edition covers the newest developments involved in the design and analysis of cancer clinical trials, incorporating updates to all four parts: Phase I trials: Updated recommendations regarding the standard 3 + 3 and continual reassessment approaches, along with new chapters on phase 0 trials and phase I trial design for targeted agents. Phase II trials: Updates to current experience in single-arm and randomized phase II trial designs. New chapters include phase II designs with multiple strata and phase II/III designs. Phase III trials: Many new chapters include interim analyses and early stopping considerations, phase III trial designs for targeted agents and for testing the ability of markers, adaptive trial designs, cure rate survival models, statistical methods of imaging, as well as a thorough review of software for the design and analysis of clinical trials. Exploratory and high-dimensional data analyses: All chapters in this part have been thoroughly updated since the last edition. New chapters address methods for analyzing SNP data and for developing a score based on gene expression data. In addition, chapters on risk calculators and forensic bioinformatics have been added. Accessible to statisticians and oncologists interested in clinical trial methodology, the book is a single-source collection of up-to-date statistical approaches to research in clinical oncology.

An ideal health care system relies on efficiently generating timely, accurate evidence to deliver on its promise of diminishing the divide between clinical practice and research. There are growing indications, however, that the current health care system and the clinical research that guides medical decisions in the United States falls far short of this vision. The process of generating medical evidence through clinical trials in the United States is expensive and lengthy, includes a number of regulatory hurdles, and is based on a limited infrastructure. The link between clinical research and medical progress is also frequently misunderstood or unsupported by both patients and providers. The focus of clinical research changes as diseases emerge and new treatments create cures for old conditions. As diseases evolve, the ultimate goal remains to speed new and improved medical treatments to patients throughout the world. To keep pace with rapidly changing health care demands, clinical research resources need to be organized and on hand to address the numerous health care questions that continually emerge. Improving the overall capacity of the clinical research enterprise will depend on ensuring that there is an adequate infrastructure in place to support the investigators who conduct research, the patients with real diseases who volunteer to participate in experimental research, and the institutions that organize and carry out the trials. To address these issues and better understand the current state of clinical research in the United States, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation held a 2-day workshop entitled Transforming Clinical Research in the United States. The workshop, summarized in this volume, laid the foundation for a broader initiative of the Forum addressing different aspects of clinical research. Future Forum plans include further examining regulatory, administrative, and structural barriers to the effective conduct of clinical research; developing a vision for a stable, continuously funded clinical research infrastructure in the United States; and considering strategies and collaborative activities to facilitate more robust public engagement in the clinical research enterprise.