Use of word “unprecedented” in the media coverage of cancer drugs: Do “unprecedented” drugs live up to the hype?

We found just 40% (19/48) of drugs hailed as “unprecedented” were tested in a randomized trial where no superior study could be found or which did not fail in phase 3, and nearly half had not earned FDA approval. The use of the word “unprecedented” in the lay press is often inaccurate and frequently overstates the importance of findings from the scientific literature.