Failure to publish trial results exposes patients to risks without providing benefits

Although the publication of results of clinical trials carried out in the USA within 12 months of their completion has been mandatory since 2007, an astoundingly high number of Phase III radiotherapy trials did not do so, according to new research. An analysis of 802 trials with a primary completion date of before Jan. 1, 2013, showed that 655, or 81.7 percent, did not publish even a summary result.