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Opinion: Cancer centers sell out science when they advertise clinical trials as treatment

Advertising that promotes clinical trials as a way to give patients "an edge" in their care is a betrayal of ethics and science.

In a promotional video, the MD Anderson Cancer Center advertises clinical trials alongside immunotherapy and proton-beam therapy as one of its many ways of “fighting cancer.” Cancer Treatment Centers of America promotes clinical trials as part of its “commitment to bringing our patients new and innovative cancer treatment options.” You may have seen billboards or heard radio spots with similar messages. But what you are actually seeing and hearing in such advertising is a betrayal of ethics and science.

There is a lot of money behind providing cancer care, and cancer treatment centers spend an estimated each year. One of the

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