Data monitoring committee (DMC)
In Roles & organizations
Also known as: DSMB, data safety monitoring board
A data monitoring committee is an independent group of experts that periodically reviews accumulating safety, and sometimes efficacy, data from an ongoing trial. It is the only group that normally sees unblinded results while the trial continues. It can recommend that a trial continue unchanged, be modified, or be stopped.
Why it matters
The DMC is the main safety net for participants in large or high-risk trials, and the reason a trial can be halted early for harm or for clear benefit.
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