13 May 2024 - In modern cancer drug development, surrogate measures are commonly used as clinical trial endpoints instead of more definitive clinical outcomes such as overall survival, with the goal of expediting the development and approval of new drugs. 

The prevalence of surrogate measures is driven by improved understanding of the basis of cancer and a desire to reduce costs and time, resulting in studies that require smaller sample sizes and shorter follow-up.

Read The Lancet Oncology Editorial