Clinical trials and research - Data monitoring committees
- Introduction
- Types of research
- How research addresses what we don't know
- What are clinical trials?
- Different stages of trials
- About fair tests
- Getting involved in health research
- Joining a clinical trial
- Finding out about the results
- Why all research should be registered
- Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
- How trials are regulated
- Ethics committees
- Data monitoring committees
- When things go wrong
- Sheilas-story
- 'The nurse made sure I understood the risks'
- 'I'm here because of women who took part in research'
- 'I thought it might help me or someone else'
- 'I want people to find better medicines'
- 'I can control my Parkinson's thanks to animal research'
- 'I'm lucky I found a trial that was so right for me'
Some longer clinical trials that produce a lot of information over several years have early warning systems.
These help identify whether the benefits of a treatment or intervention are so good, or the potential risks so high, that the trial should be stopped early.
In a large trial that lasts several years, a data monitoring committee, which is independent of the running of the trial, will look at the information being produced by the trial earlier than the researchers.
The committee members look at results at fixed intervals, or when a reason for investigation emerges in between these intervals.
Trials should be stopped if it becomes obvious that one of the treatments being compared is clearly better or worse than the other.
However, if things are going as expected with no completely clear signals that one treatment is better, the committees will recommend the researchers carry on as intended.
Whether it's always a good idea to stop a clinical trial early is a controversial issue. Read more about Are drugs trials stopped too early?
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