Cancer Biostatistics Monthly Seminar with Mei-Yin Polley, PhD
Leveraging External Control Data in the Design and Analysis of Neuro-Oncology Trials: Pearls and Perils
Mei-Yin Polley, PhD
Associate Professor of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences
The University of Chicago Biological Sciences
Meeting ID: 889 0424 5753
Passcode: bAG3JV5s
Abstract:
Randomized controlled trials (RCT) have been the gold standard for evaluating medical treatments for many decades but they are often criticized for requiring large sample sizes. For newly-diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM), the clinical trial landscape has seen little progress since the establishment of the standard of care (known as the “Stupp” regimen). Given the urgent need for better therapies, it has been argued that data collected from patients treated with the standard regimen can provide high-quality external control data to supplement or replace concurrent control arm in future RCT. In this talk, I will provide an in-depth appraisal of the use of external control data in the context of RCT. I will describe several clinical trial designs with particular attention to how external information is utilized, and address common fallacies that may lead to inappropriate adoptions of external control data. Using two completed GBM trials, I will illustrate the use of an assessment tool that lays out a blueprint for assembling a high-quality external control dataset. Using statistical simulations, I will draw caution from scenarios where these approaches can fall short on controlling the type I error rate. Practical and statistical challenges associated with implementing these designs will also be discussed.
This group meets monthly from Noon – 1 p.m. The meeting agenda includes a presentation, programmatic announcements, and updates from Cancer Center program leaders.