Scientific Thinking The study described in Module 8.10 was purely observational; there were no controlled groups. Imagine that you are an oncologist. Design a hypothesis-driven study to determine whether mastectomy improves breast cancer survival over lumpectomy. What are your control groups? Would such a study be ethical to undertake? Why or why not?

Verified step by step guidance

1. Define the hypothesis: Formulate a clear hypothesis for the study. For example, 'Patients undergoing mastectomy for breast cancer have a higher 5-year survival rate compared to those undergoing lumpectomy.'
2. Design the study: Plan a randomized controlled trial (RCT) where patients are randomly assigned to either the mastectomy group or the lumpectomy group. This helps to minimize bias and allows for a direct comparison between the two surgical interventions.
3. Identify control and experimental groups: The control group would be the patients undergoing lumpectomy, which is the less invasive procedure and often considered as a standard treatment. The experimental group would be the patients undergoing mastectomy.
4. Consider ethical implications: Evaluate the ethical considerations of conducting such a study. Since both procedures are standard treatments, the study could be considered ethical. However, full disclosure and informed consent must be obtained from all participants, ensuring they are aware of their treatment options and potential risks.
5. Plan for data collection and analysis: Outline how data will be collected, including survival rates, quality of life assessments, and any complications. Specify the statistical methods that will be used to analyze the data to determine if there is a significant difference in survival rates between the two groups.