Stem Cell Trial Data Mostly Go Unpublished

Less than half of completed stem cell studies in humans are published in peer-reviewed journals, according to an analysis of regenerative medicine trials. 

The results of about 45 percent of completed stem cell clinical trials end up published in academic journals, according to a study published in Stem Cell Reports (April 13). This trend is consistent with prior studies that found trial publication is not inevitable and only occurs for about 30 to 60 percent of all clinical trials from around the world registered within the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-maintained clinicaltrials.gov registry and results database.

“The study shows a gap between studies that have taken place and actual publication of the data, so a substantial number of trials testing cell-based interventions are not entering the public domain,” Leigh Turner, a bioethicist at the University of Minnesota who was not involved in the work, told The Scientist. “The underlying question [to this study and others] is, what is the ethical and scientific basis to exposing human research subjects to risk if there is not going to be any meaningful...