September 15, 2014 | Maurie Markman, National Director for Medical Oncology at Cancer Treatment Centers of America and editor-in-chief of Oncology Live, writes a thoughtful editorial on the growing number of retrospective studies showing a benefit for common non-cancer drugs in cancer cases. The recent growth of electronic health records, and resulting large analyses of clinical data, have led to research suggesting beta-blockers, metformin, and even aspirin may offer survival benefits for certain cancer patients, but these retrospective analyses are notoriously unreliable and may never be followed by prospective clinical trials. Markman suggests that defined standards should be created for both gauging the quality of this evidence, and getting patients' informed consent if oncologists want to move forward with off-label prescriptions. Oncology Live