Clinical Research to Clinical Practice — Lost in Translation?

Abstract

In the past 50 years we have made substantial progress in understanding the biology of disease and in devising new ways to prevent or treat it. However, there has been a substantial lag in applying what we know to actual patient care. In this article, based on his Shattuck Lecture, Claude Lenfant outlines the magnitude of the problem of translating research knowledge into clinical practice and offers suggestions for closing this gap.