Evaluation of Conflict of Interest in Economic Analyses of New Drugs Used in Oncology

Abstract

Financial conflict of interest is a pressing issue for the medical research community.^1,2 Physicians' economic ties to tobacco, alcohol, baby formula, and pharmaceutical companies have all been criticized as possible nonscientific influences on medical research.^3-6 Recent studies of research on calcium channel antagonists in cardiology, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of arthritis, and the health effects of secondhand smoke all found that physicians with financial ties to manufacturers were significantly less likely to criticize the safety or efficacy of these agents.^7-9 Similarly, a study of clinical trial publications determined that there was a significant association between positive results in general internal medicine clinical trials and funding from a pharmaceutical manufacturer.¹⁰