Randomized controlled trials and alternative study designs in surgical oncology

Surgery is central to the cure of most solid cancers and an integral part of modern multimodal cancer management for early and advanced stage cancers. Decisions made by surgeons and multidisciplinary team members are based on best available knowledge for the defined clinical situation at hand. While surgery is both an art and a science, good decision-making requires data that are robust, valid, representative and, applicable to most if not all patients with a specific cancer. Such data largely comes from clinical observations and registries, and more preferably from trials conducted with the specific purpose of arriving at new answers. As part of the ESSO core curriculum development an increased focus has been put on the need to enhance research literacy among surgical candidates. As an expansion of the curriculum catalogue list and to enhance the educational value, we here present a set of principles and emerging concepts which applies to surgical oncologist for reading, understanding, planning and contributing to future surgeon-led cancer trials. & COPY; 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Automated summary

Surgery is crucial for the treatment of solid cancers and plays an important role in multimodal cancer management. Surgeons and multidisciplinary teams make decisions based on reliable data, preferably from trials, to provide the best care for cancer patients. Enhancing research literacy among surgical candidates is a priority for the development of the ESSO core curriculum, and a set of principles and emerging concepts is presented to guide surgical oncologists in reading, understanding, planning, and contributing to future surgeon-led cancer trials.