Ethical issues in competing clinical trials

The proliferation of clinical trials in the last decade and the relatively limited number of experienced clinical trial sites in comparison has created in some sites an environment of clinical trial abundance. As clinical trial protocols typically restrict patients from concurrent clinical trial participation, and patients may be eligible for more than one trial at any given time, selecting the best trial for an individual patient requires evaluation of not only the merits of the individual trials but also patient preferences. This article highlights some potential ethical issues which should be considered when clinical trials are raised as a treatment option and when patients are eligible for more than one trial at the time of evaluation.