Yes but let me give you some real world experience from the patient perspective. Studies with herceptin had shown strong results on one of the worst breast cancers, but the studies were done in South America. I forget if there were European studies completed but I know South America had results. My wife had that cancer. An American who was most definitely not a nobel laureate but who had a lifetime of experience analyzing medical studies, told me herceptin was the only real shot at defeating my wife’s her2neu cancer.
American doctors could use herceptin, but not until other chemotherapies were ineffective. So my wife was given older treatments while I lobbied for herceptin. She got the herceptin when her very good oncologist saw the other drugs were no longer shrinking her large tumor.
Not too long after, MD Anderson published its herceptin study and it became the drug of choice.
My wife was saved. However, do I wish patients were able to have herceptin sooner even if the studies arrived in South American “Fiats” as opposed to waiting for delivery in an American “Mercedes”? Yeah.
For that reason I wouldn’t reject a study from Italy without examining it very carefully first and having a reason to reject it.
While we’re at it, a very distinguished American researcher at a top ivy league hospital was going to have my wife wait for surgery and then receive his experimental and unproven viral therapy. Luckily my wife’s excellent local surgeon insisted she seek a second opinion from the head of oncology at our regional hospital. She in turn had an excellent relationship with the head of oncology at the ivy league hospital. Thank God that resulted in a completely different course of treatment for my wife. In that particular case the ivy league renowned expert probably would have cost my wife her life.
Many of our idols have feet of clay.
Also I wouldn’t necessarily equate the medical establishment of Italy with that of Saudi Arabia.
Just my thoughts.