alt Hacker NewsThat’s definitely one way to look at it.
I would just say that ‘dangerous’ is relative and when the standard of care leaves effectively no hope, your tolerance for risk can change. Yes this does increase that chance of shortsighted decisions or manipulation. That just comes with the territory, I’m still very appreciative that we have the option to elect to participate in the peocess.
The bigger problem with trials is not the danger, so much as the fact that they're unlikely to do anything.
As GP noted, most drugs don't work. To make it a bit more specific, even in phase 3, the failure rate for cancer drugs is something like 50%. And that's typically for some non-survival endpoint (assuming you even get the treatment, which is itself a coin flip).
Clinical trials are noble, admirable things to do, but too many people think of them as treatments, when they really are not. They're an experiment that you do with your body when you reach the end of the road and there are no more options.
It always makes me a little sad to hear how patients talk about trials and fight to get into them, as if being in the trial is somehow progress. Expectations are not being managed properly.