Research on ocular cancer has expanded in recent years to involve well-designed, multi-center collaborative studies that help continue the advancement of knowledge in the field, according to an editorial in the March issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"This collaborative outlook has already resulted in important achievements," writes author J. William Harbour, M.D., of Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, in the editorial. "Properly conducted multicenter collaborative studies have many advantages." They allow the recruitment of large numbers of patients, help foster field-wide agreement on terminology, provide significant cost savings by avoiding duplication of efforts, improve trust and cooperation, eliminate some of the risk for institutional bias in research results and encourage publication of sensitive but important data, such as negative research results.
The editorial is one of several articles, case series and research letters in the issue focusing on ocular cancers, and is being published in conjunction with a JAMA theme issue on cancer. The March issues of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Archives of Internal Medicine, Archives of Dermatology, Archives of Surgery, Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery and Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery will also publish articles on this theme.
Source: JAMA and Archives Journals