Three Top Questions
Tips for Getting the Most From Reading a Research Study
Does the Research Apply to You?
Talk to Your Physician
Definitions
For More Information

Three Top Questions

Decisions about treatment should be made in consultation with your physician. In fact, making treatment choices may involve speaking to one or more specialists.

Many people also want to become informed about treatment options by reading

• Medical news articles 
• Reports of scientific studies about the safety and effectiveness of specific treatments.

You can find medical news and scientific research articles in newspapers, magazines, on the Internet and in a medical journals.

Whatever the source, there are three top questions that should be addressed by an article about scientific research.  These are:

• What was the purpose of the research study?
• How was the research conducted?
• What did the researchers find—in other words, what were the results?
  

Tips for Getting the Most From Reading a Research Study

A scientific or medical journal article usually begins with an abstract and an introduction, followed by sections on research methods and results, and concluding with a discussion of the research and references.

- The Abstract provides a quick summary and overview.

- The Introduction identifies what the researchers wanted to learn by conducting the research study.

- The Methods section tells about the characteristics of the research participants, how the data was collected, and how the research study was conducted. This information enables you to evaluate the quality of the research study. This section might also be called "Research Methods" or "Methodology."

- The Results section describes the specific and detailed findings of the research study.

- The Discussion section tells you about the conclusions the researchers drew from the research study and the suggested steps for future research.

- The Reference section lists the sources cited in the article.

Does the Research Apply to You?

Look for certain types of information about the people who participated in the research study. If you are reading an article from a medical journal article, check the Methods section.

Patient characteristics that may affect how the results of the study (called "outcomes") include

• Diagnosis, disease subtype and risk factors
• Disease stage
• Treatment stage
• Age and overall health

How the Research Results Can Help You with Treatment Choices Research results can show how other people with a similar disease responded to different treatments, but cannot tell how any one person will respond. The fewer the patients in the study, the less accurate the prediction of likely outcomes is for others.  Response rates and survival data for patients treated five or more years ago may not give a good picture of what patients can expect today. Long-term survival rates are not yet available for the newest treatments. At least five years must pass after the first groups of patients receive a specific treatment to establish the 5-year survival rate for that treatment. Survival data alone cannot tell you about treatment side effects or complications. (Two treatments with similar survival rates may have different side effect, long-term effect and quality of life considerations.)

Talk to Your Physician

Remember to discuss all your treatment options with your physician so you can understand both the

• Expected benefits
• Risks of side effects and complications.

Seek your physician's guidance and consider a second opinion consult, as needed, for help in interpreting studies.  

Click here for a printable question guide for discussing treatment options.
Click here for a printable question guide for discussing treatment side effects.

Definitions

Certain words or phrases in articles about medical or scientific research may be unfamiliar to you. This list of definitions may help. In addition, the Information Resource Center is available to answer your questions.

Clinical trials
Research studies to test new drugs, treatments or new uses for approved drugs or treatments in an effort to develop better therapy. Click here for more information about clinical trials.

Complete response (Complete remission)
A patient's health status after treatment, when there is no sign of the disease using standard tests specific for that disease.  

Cytogenetic response (Cytogenetic remission)
A treatment response in which there are no blood cancer cells detected in the blood and/or marrow by special tests.

Disease-free survival
The number of patients who are alive without relapse or signs of disease.

Endpoint
The overall outcome that a protocol is designed to evaluate, such as disease free- survival or progression-free survival.

Event-free survival
The absence of a particular group of defined events (toxicities, side effects, long-term effects, psychosocial effects) after treatment that is designed to delay or prevent that group of events.

FDA
The short name for the United States Food and Drug Administration. The FDA looks at the results of drug studies and determines if a drug is safe and effective.

Hematologic response (Hematologic remission)
A treatment response where the number of blood cancer cells are decreased in the blood; and, red cell count, white cell count, and platelet count are either at or near normal values.

Molecular response (Molecular remission)
A treatment response where no blood cancer cells can be detected in the blood and/or marrow with very sensitive tests.

Overall survival
The number of patients who are alive at a certain point in time after diagnosis. Some of these patients may be in relapse or may still be receiving treatment. Survival outcomes data may measure time from diagnosis or from receiving a specific treatment. Some people find survival outcomes data  helpful and some do not.

Partial response (Partial remission)
A significant response to treatment, with some disease remaining in the body

Prognosis
An estimate of the likely course of the disease based on the experiences of others with the same disease, age, overall health, disease status and treatments.

Progression-free survival
The number of patients who are alive with disease that has not gotten worse. For certain blood cancers, people can have a good quality of life if the disease is kept stable, even if it is not cured.

Protocol
An action plan for a research study, such as research to study a specific treatment. The protocol explains what will be done, when, how and why. When a study is being done at more than one site, each site follows the same plan (protocol). This means that information from all of the researchers can be combined and compared at the end of the study.

Refractory disease
Disease that has not responded to therapy.

Relapse or recurrence
When disease comes back after it has been successfully treated.

Remission (Response)
A person's health status after treatment, when there is no sign of the disease using standard tests specific for the patient's disease.

Response rate
The number or percentage of people who respond to a specific treatment.

Risk factor
A factor that may increase the chance that a person will develop a disease or condition. For example, cigarette smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer.

Toxicity
An unwanted (adverse) effect produced by a therapy that is detrimental to the patient's health.

For More Information

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