Reference no: EM133477188
Case: A key part of addressing ethical dilemmas is to generate multiple options for how to proceed in the face of a dilemma and assess each option in terms of the likely outcomes or consequences for key interested parties.
In four hundred words discuss the two options present in the following scenario and the likely consequences of each option for the interested parties. Be sure to make your options realistic and specific.
As a reminder, clinical research follows a phased approach, with phase I focused on safety, phase II focused on efficacy, and phase III focused on determining whether the benefits outweigh the risks and harms (establishing efficacy and monitoring of adverse reactions). Phase I trials have long been a source of ethical concern because they are designed to evaluate safety in relation to toxicity and side-effects of the drug in question, not to detect any direct therapeutic benefit (though such "medical benefit" may occur).
Apologies for the gut-wrenching and harrowing, but nevertheless very real, scenario: Imagine you are a guardian of a child who has recently been diagnosed with an advanced form of cancer. Your child's oncologist mentions that pediatric oncology trials are vital to improving treatments for children with cancer and you are referred to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) who can help connect you to on-going Phase I trials that would be appropriate for your child. You're understandably distraught by the situation and worried by the possibility that participation in any trial poses significant risks and offers a very low chance of medical benefit to your child. The ASCO representative understands your concern, but correctly maintains that research, unlike clinical care, aims at generalizable knowledge; therefore, the principle of beneficence in research must include benefits that are beyond those of individual medical benefit. In other words, risk-to-benefit at the individual level (e.g. your child) is less crucial as the potential benefits to the class of children with the same disease. So while you should want your child's prognosis to be improved via participation in experimental research, you get the impression that the research is "bigger" than you two or that participating is purely for "the greater good".
Question: Discuss the reasoning for both electing to enroll your child in a clinical trial and abstaining. Be sure to focus on potential outcomes/consequences.