(Press-News.org) MIAMI, FLORIDA (Jan. 12, 2026) – Head and neck cancer trials are frequently derailed before they can deliver answers. A new analysis suggests that the most common reasons are sponsor decisions related to safety or effectiveness and poor patient recruitment.
Researchers from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and collaborators analyzed 692 clinical trials launched between 2000 and 2024. Alex Reznik, M.D./Ph.D. student at the University of Miami and co-author, described the study as “A retrospective query of head and neck cancer clinical trials in which we compared trial characteristics between failed clinical trials and completed clinical trials.”
The findings, published Jan. 2, 2026, in JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, included 346 studies that ended early, either terminated or were withdrawn. The leading culprits?
Strategic decisions by sponsors, often unrelated to safety or efficacy (29.5%)
Poor patient recruitment (26%)
Early-phase trials and those testing immunotherapies or targeted therapies were more likely to fail because of sponsor-driven decisions. Later-phase trials investigating chemotherapy, radiation or combination treatments struggled with enrollment.
“Understanding why trials fail is the first step toward designing studies that succeed. Every failure represents lost time for patients who urgently need better options,” said Elizabeth Franzmann, M.D., who is a professor of otolaryngology and director of head and neck research at the Miller School and co-author of the study.
Industry-sponsored trials were nearly three times more likely to fail compared with government-funded studies. Academic and network-funded trials fared better, mainly because they prioritized patient recruitment strategies and broader eligibility criteria.
Enrollment size also played a critical role. Trials with higher participant numbers were significantly more likely to reach completion. Conversely, restrictive eligibility criteria and logistical hurdles often doomed studies before they could deliver results.
“Beyond the science, study design plays a critical role in trial success, especially recruitment and eligibility. Recruitment challenges are not just statistics—they reflect real barriers for patients, and digital outreach can help improve access,” said first author, Janice Huang, an M.D./Ph.D. student at the Miller School.
Clinical trial failure isn’t just a research setback—it delays progress for patients and drives up costs. Developing a new cancer drug can cost more than $2 billion, and each terminated trial adds inefficiency to an already complex system. “Often, we think about clinical trial failure as not reaching primary endpoints (e.g. the clinical efficacy required to demonstrate the success of the intervention of interest), however, we decided to investigate the understudied and clinically significant pattern of early trial termination – studies that don’t even make it to the finish line,” said Reznik.
The study also found that failure rates have climbed steadily over the past two decades, underscoring the need for innovation in trial design. Solutions such as decentralized trials, adaptive protocols and nurse-led navigation could help overcome these barriers.
“Clinical trials are how hope becomes care,” said Franzmann.
about Sylvester research on the InventUM blog and follow @SylvesterCancer on X for the latest news on its research and care.
# # #
END
Bernard Arulanandam, vice provost for research at Tufts University and professor of immunology at Tufts University School of Medicine, has been named a foreign fellow of the Indian National Science Academy. This honor recognizes his significant contributions to scientific research and his longstanding engagement with international scientific communities.
The Indian National Science Academy, established in 1935, is India’s premier scientific body dedicated to advancing scientific inquiry ...
Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 12 January 2026
Follow @Annalsofim on X, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and Linkedin
Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing ...
Seattle, WA — In a groundbreaking study published in the in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), scientists at Pacific Northwest Research Institute (PNRI) have overturned a long-held belief in genetics: that inheriting two harmful variants in the same gene always worsens disease. Instead, the team found that, in many cases, two harmful variants can actually restore normal protein function.
The research focused on a human enzyme called argininosuccinate lyase (ASL), ...
For decades, researchers have focused on the problem of overgrazing, in which expanding herds of cattle and other livestock degrade grasslands, steppes and desert plains. But a new global study reveals that in large regions of the world, livestock numbers are substantially declining, not growing — a process the authors call destocking.
“We often assume that rangelands are being degraded because we overgraze them, but the data show that it's not the whole story: nearly half of livestock production occurs in areas that have experienced destocking over the past 25 years,” said study co-author Osvaldo Sala, an ecologist and professor ...
Kyoto, Japan -- While investigating the FGF21-oxytocin-dopamine system, a mechanism that regulates sugar appetite, a team of researchers at Kyoto University noticed reports suggesting that the protein FGF21 may regulate alcohol ingestion. The team's original aim had been to address sugar appetite in lifestyle-related diseases, but since alcohol is a fermented product of sugar, they speculated that perhaps the body contains a system that recognizes both alcohol and sugar as the same entity.
Excessive alcohol consumption is a major global health issue, and ...
Researchers at University of California San Diego have identified a previously unrecognized treatment target for triple‑negative breast cancer (TNBC), the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer. Their new study reveals that a protein called PUF60 plays an essential role in helping TNBC cells grow and survive by controlling how key genes are spliced. In models of TNBC, disrupting the activity of PUF60 caused widespread errors in gene processing, resulting in DNA damage, cell‑cycle arrest and ultimately tumor cell death. ...
For her decades of thoughtful Society leadership and energetic committee participation, the Seismological Society of America will present Ruth Harris with its 2026 Distinguished Service Award. Harris will receive the award at the 2026 SSA Annual Meeting.
Harris, a senior research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey, joined SSA in 1987. She was first elected as an SSA Board Member from 1997 to 2003. She served as SSA Vice President from 2005-2007, and twice as SSA President, from 2015-2016 and from 2023-2024.
In ...
The Berlin Aging Study was carried out by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Freie Universität Berlin, and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in cooperation with partners from geriatrics, psychology, psychiatry, and the social sciences. BASE is regarded as a pioneering project of multidisciplinary gerontology, examining the lives of older Berliners aged between 70 and over 100 years.
A window into life in old age
Between 1990 and 1993, 516 inhabitants of former West-Berlin were interviewed and ...
Researchers from the IIASA Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program are involved in the recently launched EU-funded Trees4Adapt project. The project focuses on tree-based solutions for climate adaptation, aiming to strengthen Europe’s adaptation and resilience to climate change in a way that supports people and nature.
Climate change and biodiversity loss are two of the most pressing challenges of our time. These crises are deeply interconnected, creating complex risks that threaten ecosystems, human wellbeing, and the economy. Yet, current decision-making and land-use planning often fails to account for this interconnectedness, limiting ...
Scientists at The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation have identified a previously unknown molecular safeguard that protects the heart during pregnancy, shedding new light on the causes of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM), a rare and life-threatening form of pregnancy-related heart failure.
In a study published in Nature Communications, Michelle L. Matter, PhD, and her team reveal that the gene PTRH2 plays a critical role in helping the maternal heart adapt to pregnancy-induced stress.
“This work identifies a previously unrecognized molecular safeguard in the heart,” said Dr. Matter. “Understanding how the heart normally ...
