Table 2 Characteristics of all trials. Majority of trials treated patients with 3D conventional techniques, had a sample size of 200 or more, were not industry sponsored, were listed in clinicaltrials.gov, were RT focused, had non-overall survival as the primary efficacy endpoint and were published in Europe. There were more trials published in radiotherapy journals, published form 1996-2005, published in journals with impact factor of more then 15. Majority of trials were non-cooperative group trials, did not publish their trial protocol, did not publish their QA processes, and did not have biases in reporting of primary efficacy endpoints and toxicity
From: Quality of radiotherapy reporting in randomized controlled trials of prostate cancer
| Characteristics | N | % |
|---|---|---|
| RT Technique | ||
| 2D | 1 | 2 |
| 3D Conventional | 33 | 56 |
| IMRT only | 5 | 8 |
| Multiple techniques | 11 | 19 |
| Not specified | 9 | 15 |
| Sample size | ||
| ≤ 200 | 16 | 27 |
| > 200 | 43 | 73 |
| Sponsorship | ||
| Industry | 12 | 20 |
| Not industry | 33 | 56 |
| Not reported | 14 | 24 |
| Listed in clinicaltrials.gov | ||
| Yes | 15 | 25 |
| No | 44 | 75 |
| Types of RT trial | ||
| RT focused | 40 | 68 |
| Not RT focused | 19 | 32 |
| Primary efficacy endpoint | ||
| Overall survival | 8 | 14 |
| Non-overall survival | 42 | 86 |
| Region | ||
| North America | 21 | 36 |
| Europe | 31 | 52 |
| Asia | 3 | 5 |
| Australia/New Zealand | 3 | 5 |
| International | 1 | 2 |
| Radiotherapy Journal | ||
| Yes | 17 | 29 |
| No | 42 | 71 |
| Year of publication | ||
| 1996–2005 | 36 | 61 |
| 2006–2016 | 23 | 39 |
| Impact factor | ||
| ≤ 15 | 18 | 31 |
| > 15 | 41 | 69 |
| Cooperative group | ||
| Yes | 23 | 39 |
| No | 36 | 61 |
| Trial protocol available | ||
| Yes | 14 | 24 |
| No | 45 | 76 |
| QA process published | ||
| Yes | 16 | 27 |
| No | 43 | 83 |
| Bias in reporting primary efficacy endpoint | ||
| Yes | 4 | 7 |
| No | 44 | 75 |
| Not accessible | 11 | 18 |
| Bias in reporting toxicity | ||
| Yes | 13 | 22 |
| No | 46 | 78 |