Radiation Oncology/Ethics in research

• A number of ethical challenges related to informed consent, randomization, conflicts of interest, and scientific validity and social value are shared with other areas of medicine • Unique concerns in radiation oncology arising from the rapid evolution and uneven distribution of radiation technologies; the greater unfamiliarity of the general public and research oversight committees in regard to radiation oncology clinical practice; and the high complexity of managing most radiation oncology research, much of which is carried out in high-acuity multidisciplinary oncologic settings • To produce the best research, adherence to the highest ethical standards should be pursued as an integral component of all radiation oncology research • Shlomo A Koyfman et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2017. Clinical Research Ethics: Considerations for the Radiation Oncologist (PMID: 28871967) • M. Bernstein, et al. Curr Oncol. 2006 Apr; 13(2): 55–60. Ethical guideposts to clinical trials in oncology (PMID: 17576442)