An investigation by the Toronto Star uncovered numerous serious ethical and/or scientific problems with medical trials conducted by Canadian researchers, according to a report published Tuesday:

In 2012, a top Toronto cancer researcher failed to report a respiratory tract infection, severe vomiting and other adverse events.

A clinical trial run by an Alberta doctor reported that patients responded more favourably to the treatment than they actually did.

A Toronto hospital’s chief of medical staff ran a clinical trial of autistic children on a powerful antipsychotic, and he did not report side-effects suffered by four of the children.

And numerous doctors across the country failed to tell participants that one of the goals of the clinical trial was to test the safety of the drug they were taking. [The Star]

The investigation found that eight Canadian doctors had been flagged repeatedly by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for deficient research, including one Alberta cancer researcher who had been cited three times. 

[Photo credit: chesbayprogram, Creative Commons.]