Which Research Results Should the Public Believe?

To the Editor: With respect to Angell and Kassirer's editorial (July 21 issue) 1 concerning the public's confusion about the results of clinical trials, I think the public and the media would be better able to assess research results if medical researchers themselves were more modest and careful when discussing their results with journalists. The Journal has led the way in embargoing research results until after publication, but such rules cannot prevent the ambitious or naive investigator (or the investigator's institution) from touting results and pushing conclusions beyond the limits of the data. This problem is likely to increase as corporate . . .