title: Characteristics of anticancer drug studies registered on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) from 2007 to 2015.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This research aims to examine the basic and methodological characteristics of anticancer drug studies registered on the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) and explores the progress of implementation of good clinical practice (GCP) and the challenges it poses for anticancer drug research in China.
  
  
  METHODS
  The studies from 2007 to 2015 were downloaded from the ChiCTR and those involving anticancer drugs with evaluation of the main dimensions. The numerical trend of the studies registered each year was analyzed. Chi-square tests were performed to test for significant differences between different funding sources, types of drug and study phases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six hundred and four anticancer drug studies were collected. The overall number of anticancer drug studies was increased. Significant differences could be seen in the dimensions of multicentre study (P = 0.000), participant number (P = 0.029) and randomization procedure (P = 0.005) for the three funding sources. There were significant differences in the dimensions of multicentre study (P = 0.001), participant number (P = 0.025), collecting samples from participants (P = 0.006), and randomization procedure (P = 0.009) between different kinds of drugs. There were also significant differences in the dimension of participant number (P = 0.025) and randomization procedure (P = 0.016) between different study phases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There are problems with study registry criteria and study type classification method. Also, within the studies researched, heterogeneity exists for various dimensions. Different sources of funding, distinct types of drug and disparate phases of study lead to significant differences in certain dimensions of anticancer drug studies.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China.
authors.forename: Menghuan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macao, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
keywords: Anticancer drug; ChiCTR; China; cancer; clinical trial