When Research Is Best Therapy

Abstract

A case study is presented in which a physician must decide whether to ask a renal cell carcinoma patient, who has declined treatment unless it would improve his quality of life or extend his period of survival, to participate in a study comparing a standard progestational agent (Depo-provera) with an otherwise unavailable drug (gamma-interferon) which offers the only promising treatment for his disease. Two commentaries weigh the moral obligations of the physician, the patient, and the drug company in a circumstance where the patient has the right to withdraw from the study if he is randomly chosen to receive the less effective drug. (KIE abstract)