Common Implications in Treating Patients With Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma
Martin Hutchings, MD, PhD, senior consultant in the Department of Hematology at the Copenhagen University Hospital, discusses common implications in treating patients with advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma. Trials rarely perform subgroup analyses, and when they do, it is common for researchers to come across particular biases in the selected subgroups.
Martin Hutchings, MD, PhD, senior consultant in the Department of Hematology at the Copenhagen University Hospital, discusses common implications in treating patients with advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma. Trials rarely perform subgroup analyses, and when they do, it is common for researchers to come across particular biases in the selected subgroups.
It is not only difficult to perform a subgroup analysis in clinical trials for Hodgkin lymphoma, but it is also hard to remain unbiased. In the ECHELON-1 trial, Hutchings says the subgroup analysis was preplanned to avoid any biased views. Unfortunately, that is not the case with all clinical trials.
With analyses like these, it will be easier to tell in the future what treatments or regimens will be most relevant for each patient. Decisions can also be based on individual judgement or regional differences, Hutchings says. Cost, for example, is a regional difference that can be a major issue.
