Missed OPPORTUNITY: growth hormone therapy in adults with CKD

The results of the largest, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre, multinational randomized clinical trial (RCT) evaluating the effects of human growth hormone (hGH) on clinical outcome in 695 haemodialysed adults are published in this issue [1]. Designed to answer the important question whether hGH therapy might improve the notoriously poor survival in patients on dialysis, the OPPORTUNITY trial will enter the collective memory of the nephrology community as a paradigmatic case illustrating the unfortunate dependence of clinical pharmacological research on the short-term interest of industry sponsors.