27.05.13
The number of patients taking part in clinical trials in England has trebled in five years.
Figures from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) show almost 638,000 patients volunteered last year.
The rise may surprise some, given the publicity associated with a drug trial at a private research unit at London's Northwick Park hospital in 2006.
That trial - of a potential new drug for arthritis - left six volunteers dangerously ill.
A similar increase in volunteers has occurred elsewhere in the UK.
Although many people associate medical trials with healthy volunteers, the vast majority who take part in research are NHS patients testing treatments for their condition.
The chief medical officer, Prof Dame Sally Davies, said she was delighted NHS patients realised the benefits of participation and said they played a vital role in developing treatments.
The increase follows the establishment of the NIHR in 2006. Its remit is to "improve the health and wealth of the nation through research". The organisation, funded by the Department of Health, has increased the amount of patient-focused health research.
Dame Sally said: "We put between 15-20% patients into trials in cancer compared to 2-3% in the United States, so clearly we've managed to get through to the public to explain the advantages of joining clinical research, and the altruistic side of what they are doing for the people that follow them.
"The doctors and patients have properly funded expert support in the clinic - to help patients understand the meaning of taking part in research, their right to opt out if they do consent - and to help them and hold their hands as they go through the research."
The NIHR has launched a campaign - OK to Ask - to encourage patients to raise the subject of clinical research rather than the first approach coming from a clinician. Despite the huge increase in patient numbers on trials, a consumer poll by the NIHR Clinical Research Network found only 6% of those questioned said the public were well-informed about clinical research in the NHS.
Dame Sally also paid tribute to healthy volunteers who tested new treatments. Early trials of medicines are often tested this way.
Permanent damage
In 2006, six men were treated for multi-organ failure in intensive care after testing a new drug in a private research facility at Northwick Park hospital in north-west London. The trial was a "first-in-man" study of a new immunotherapy for leukaemia and rheumatoid arthritis.
The volunteers were injected at intervals of just a few minutes and suffered multi-organ failure. They eventually recovered but have been left with permanent damage to their immune system and other health problems.
The trial had been approved by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency). A subsequent inquiry recommended stricter controls concerning treatments that are being tested in humans for the first time.
There are no exact figures for the number of healthy volunteers on trials, as opposed to patients receiving treatment, but it is widely thought that the numbers rose after the publicity surrounding the Northwick Park incident.
Read more...
