title: Multiple comparisons in drug efficacy studies: scientific or marketing principles?
abstract: When researchers design an experiment to compare a given medication to another medication, a behavioral therapy, or a placebo, the experiment often involves numerous comparisons. For instance, there may be several different evaluation methods, raters, and time points. Although scientifically justified, such comparisons can be abused in the interests of drug marketing. This article provides two recent examples of such questionable practices. The first involves the case of the arthritis drug celecoxib (Celebrex), where the study lasted 12 months but the authors only presented 6 months of data. The second case involves the NIMH Multimodal Treatment Study (MTA) study evaluating the efficacy of stimulant medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder where ratings made by several groups are reported in contradictory fashion. The MTA authors have not clarified the confusion, at least in print, suggesting that the actual findings of the study may have played little role in the authors' reported conclusions.
authors.affiliation: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001168:Arthritis / Q000188:drug therapy; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000068579:Celecoxib; D002648:Child; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D016265:Conflict of Interest; D030881:Disclosure / Q000941:ethics; D004345:Drug Industry; D006801:Humans; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009315:National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.); D017712:Peer Review, Research / Q000941:ethics; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D017594:Publication Bias; D011720:Pyrazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012107:Research Design; D012108:Research Personnel; D013449:Sulfonamides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D011720:Pyrazoles; D013449:Sulfonamides; D008774:Methylphenidate; D000068579:Celecoxib