title: Use of multiple endpoints and approval paths depicts a decade of FDA oncology drug approvals.
abstract: This study explores the historic use of different endpoints to support regular and accelerated approval of cancer drugs between 2002 and 2012. In the past 10 years, two thirds of oncology regular approvals were based on endpoints other than overall survival. More than three quarters of accelerated approvals were based on response rates. The accelerated approval program has been heavily used over this time period, with one third of all approved oncology indications receiving accelerated approval. At times, critics have characterized the agency as rigid and unpredictable. This research describes the degree of regulatory flexibility that U.S. Food and Drug Administration and drug sponsors have used over the past decade in the development of new treatments for cancer.
authors.affiliation: Friends of Cancer Research, Washington, District of Columbia 20036, USA.
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Shea
authors.forename: Samantha A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Jessica C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Walrath
authors.forename: Jeff D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Ellen V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Sigal
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D017277:Drug Approval / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents