ADAPTIVE ASSIGNMENT VERSUS BALANCED RANDOMIZATION IN CLINICAL-TRIALS - A DECISION-ANALYSIS

We compare balanced randomization with four adaptive treatment allocat ion procedures in a clinical trial involving two treatments. The objec tive is to treat as many patients in and out of the trial as effective ly as possible. Randomization is a satisfactory solution to the decisi on problem when the disease in question is at Least moderately common. Adaptive procedures are more difficult to use, but might play a role in clinical research when a substantial proportion of all patients wit h the disease are included in the trial.