RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Position statement on ethics, equipoise and research on charged particle radiation therapy
JF Journal of Medical Ethics
JO J Med Ethics
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics
SP 572
OP 575
DO 10.1136/medethics-2012-101290
VO 40
IS 8
A1 Sheehan, Mark
A1 Timlin, Claire
A1 Peach, Ken
A1 Binik, Ariella
A1 Puthenparampil, Wilson
A1 Lodge, Mark
A1 Kehoe, Sean
A1 Brada, Michael
A1 Burnet, Neil
A1 Clarke, Steve
A1 Crellin, Adrian
A1 Dunn, Michael
A1 Fossati, Piero
A1 Harris, Steve
A1 Hocken, Michael
A1 Hope, Tony
A1 Ives, Jonathan
A1 Kamada, Tadashi
A1 London, Alex John
A1 Miller, Robert
A1 Parker, Michael
A1 Pijls-Johannesma, Madelon
A1 Savulescu, Julian
A1 Short, Susan
A1 Skene, Loane
A1 Tsujii, Hirohiko
A1 Tuan, Jeffrey
A1 Weijer, Charles
YR 2014
UL http://jme.bmj.com/content/40/8/572.abstract
AB The use of charged-particle radiation therapy (CPRT) is an increasingly important development in the treatment of cancer. One of the most pressing controversies about the use of this technology is whether randomised controlled trials are required before this form of treatment can be considered to be the treatment of choice for a wide range of indications. Equipoise is the key ethical concept in determining which research studies are justified. However, there is a good deal of disagreement about how this concept is best understood and applied in the specific case of CPRT. This report is a position statement on these controversies that arises out of a workshop held at Wolfson College, Oxford in August 2011. The workshop brought together international leaders in the relevant fields (radiation oncology, medical physics, radiobiology, research ethics and methodology), including proponents on both sides of the debate, in order to make significant progress on the ethical issues associated with CPRT research. This position statement provides an ethical platform for future research and should enable further work to be done in developing international coordinated programmes of research.