Clinical radiation oncology trials in Germany

Excerpt

Radiotherapy is a mainstay of modern oncology. Improvements in radiotherapy have in the past and will in the future contribute substantially to the progress made in cancer treatment. Clinical trials are the basis for further advancing radiotherapeutic efficacy to improve locoregional tumor control and/or to better protect normal tissues, i.e., to improve the therapeutic ratio [1]. It is therefore of central importance for current and future cancer patients to promote clinical trials in radiation oncology. This requires innovative and patient-oriented ideas brought forward by dedicated clinical scientists or study groups, professional trial infrastructures and appropriate funding, but also a supportive medicolegal framework. In Germany this latter point differs in several important aspects from the requirements for clinical trials in radiation oncology in other states of the European Union and worldwide. …