Clinical trial · Interventional
Impact of "Spin" on the Interpretation of Results of Randomized Trials in the Field of Cancer
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Randomized controlled trials (RCT) are the gold standard for therapeutic evaluation. Rapid dissemination of trial results and their translation into clinical practice is particularly important. Abstracts published or presented in conferences are a large, rapid and free method to disseminate these results. However, this mode of dissemination may have serious consequences for patients if abstracts are not an accurate and unbiased reflection of the trial results. Investigators have great freedom when writing their abstracts and articles: they can choose the data and decide how to present it. Consequently, they have many opportunities to shape readers' impressions of their results, that is, to add "spin" (ie, spin is a specific way of reporting to convince readers that the beneficial effect of the experimental treatment is higher than shown by the results). Objective: To assess the impact of spin on the interpretation of results in abstracts of randomized controlled trials with non-statistically significant results in the field of cancer.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| the Study Focus on no Specific Condition | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| interpretation of the abstract | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- abstract with spin
- description
- 30 abstracts of 2 parallel arms negative RCTs (ie, non-statistically significant primary outcome) evaluating treatment in the field of cancer and having spin in the abstract conclusion according to a classification developed previously
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: interpretation of the abstract
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- abstract without spin
- description
- The abstracts with spin were systematically rewritten without spin
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: interpretation of the abstract
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Interpretation of the Beneficial Effect of the Experimental Treatment
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion criteria The evaluators participating in this study were as follows: The "corresponding authors" of published RCTs in the field of cancer Experts of a French national grant in the field of cancer -investigator of trials registered in clinicaltrials.gov
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available