[Comment] Global cooperation and early access—clinical outcomes matter

In modern cancer drug development, surrogate measures are commonly used as clinical trial endpoints instead of more definitive clinical outcomes such as overall survival, with the goal of expediting the development and approval of new drugs. The prevalence of surrogate measures is driven by improved understanding of the basis of cancer and a desire to reduce costs and time, resulting in studies that require smaller sample sizes and shorter follow-up. Regulatory bodies around the world, such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), also accept trials using surrogate measures to expedite patient access to new treatments.