Assessing capabilities in India today and the role of "outside" opinions.

We have followed the exchange of comments between Dr Sankaranarayanan and Dr Suba closely and with interest, but also with rising concern that this angry dialogue will eventually harm rather than benefit the goal to which both aspire (and have devoted considerable effort and time). We hope that the editors of this journal and both parties will agree to a period of cooling down, after which the discussions could be continued in an appropriate technical forum.

"Informing" and "consenting": ethical concerns regarding illiterate and vulnerable participants in clinical trials.

We appreciate the article by Eric Suba, highlighting some inadequacies in trials comparing various methods of screening for cervical cancer. Our response pertains to his reference to the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) raising concerns about issues relating to informed consent. We wish to present our perspective on the process of “informing” and “consenting” vulnerable patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).