Patients with cancer and sepsis trials: an unfair representation?

Abstract

Approximately 20% of sepsis cases are thought to occur in patients with cancer. Thus, such patients are an important cohort to be represented and characterised among sepsis trials. However, patients with cancer are commonly excluded from sepsis trials, although the extent to which is unknown. In this opinion article, we discuss our findings that suggest that patients with cancer are being under-represented in sepsis trials, often with an unclear rationale. We question the validity of generalising results from sepsis trials to heterogenous cancer populations and call for wider inclusion of patients with cancer to bridge this knowledge gap in sepsis management.