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Clinical Trial Methods

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The Radiotherapy of Malignant Disease

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Abstract

This chapter describes some of the statistical methods which the radiotherapist and oncologist are likely to need in order to evaluate critically the effectiveness of treatment for cancer. One of the oldest and greatest errors in medicine is the assumption that treatment is necessarily beneficial. The correct scientific attitude ought to be one of scepticism: a new drug or a new X-ray machine is not always better than its predecessors and may in fact be harmful. Well-established as well as new methods of treatment throughout medicine need to be continually evaluated for both efficacy and safety.

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References

Statistical Methods

  • Armitage P (1971) Statistical methods in medical research.Blackwell Scientific, Oxford and Edinburgh

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  • Castle W (1972) Statistics in small doses. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh and London

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Clinical Trial Design

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Authors
  1. M. K. Palmer
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Manchester, UK

    Eric C. Easson CBE, MSc, MD, FRCP, FRCR (Late Emeritus Professor of Radiotherapy, formerly Director of Radiotherapy) (Late Emeritus Professor of Radiotherapy, formerly Director of Radiotherapy)

  2. Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute, Manchester, UK

    Eric C. Easson CBE, MSc, MD, FRCP, FRCR (Late Emeritus Professor of Radiotherapy, formerly Director of Radiotherapy) & R. C. S. Pointon MA, FRCP, FRCR (Director of Radiotherapy) (Late Emeritus Professor of Radiotherapy, formerly Director of Radiotherapy) &  (Director of Radiotherapy)

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© 1985 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Palmer, M.K. (1985). Clinical Trial Methods. In: Easson, E.C., Pointon, R.C.S. (eds) The Radiotherapy of Malignant Disease. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3322-3_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3322-3_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-3324-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-3322-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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