Why cancer drug development has to involve patient voices

In 10 seconds? Meaningful measures of patient experiences have been conspicuously absent from cancer clinical trial data. The time has come to elevate patient voices in the treatment approval process.

I’m confused. How can patient voices be absent? Let me put the current process into perspective. Drug development is a strategic business. For a new cancer treatment to be authorized for use, it must be approved by a regulatory agency (such as the FDA in the US or the EMA in Europe). Pharma companies burn large sums to develop drugs and fund carefully crafted clinical trials, to prove to the FDA and others that their treatment serves an unmet medical need.