From the article:
Oncologists are now on Twitter in ever-growing numbers. My team found that when oncologists tweet about a cancer drug and have a financial tie to the maker, their tweets are more likely to be positive than when they tweet about a drug for which no tie exists. We published this finding in the journal Lancet Haematology, though you might think it was a better fit for the Journal of Obvious Things.
The fundamental problem is that, as a profession, cancer physicians are not interested in addressing conflict of interest. Too many people in prominent positions benefit from the current lax policies. Disclosure is not the solution —ending these payments is.
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Conflict of interest is the cancer growing in cancer medicine. It poisons the field. It leads us to celebrate marginal drugs as if they were game-changers. It leads experts to ignore or downplay flaws and deficits in cancer clinical trials. It keeps doctors silent about the crushing price of cancer medicines. It is rampant in guidelines that lead to off-label prescribing and that mandate payment. It is surely a calculated maneuver by the industry to increase their profits.