There are over 2,000 immunotherapy drugs currently in development. However, a meagre 5% of cancer patients partake in clinical trials, according to a PBS News Hour report. Consequently, America’s second leading cause of death, cancer, continues to claim more lives year after year as researchers struggle to keep up. As PBS puts it, cancer treatment progress is “stunted by [a] lack of volunteers.”1
Five key takeaways
A summary posted by Becker’s Healthcare outlines five key takeaways from the full PBS report:
- 7 million = the estimated number of new cancer diagnoses in the United States in 2016. Additionally, 600,000 people died as a result of cancer in 2016.
- Limited access to novel cancer therapies is thought to be the most significant barrier to patient enrollment. An overwhelming majority of cancer treatment clinical trials occur in the United States’ major research hospitals.
- A natural disaster sparked regional change. A team lead by Agusto Ochoa, MD, of Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, initiated work to change Louisiana’s clinical trial infrastructure and expand access with the help of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Ochoa’s team took action after flooding by Hurricane Katrina forced Louisiana’s primary cancer research center in New Orleans to close. Ochoa explained that “after Katrina, our only choice was to start working with community oncologists and community sites… I think this is a winning approach to bring clinical trials to the patients… they cannot be exclusively provided in specialized cancer centers.”2
- The Gulf South NCORP clinical trials network, formed by Ochoa’s team, now consists of more than 22 treatment facilities staffed by more than 90 investigators across Louisiana (+ 1 site in Mississippi), effectively tripling the number of patients enrolled in clinical trials in Louisiana.
- Technology provides an additional pathway to “speed cancer treatment development by facilitating the spread of information.”2 Flatiron Health, a healthtech company launched in 2012, developed a database fueled by anonymized patient information collected from 2,500 oncology clinicians who also use the database for their own research. The database can be used to identify patients for clinical trials as well as connect physicians to each other to learn about the types of treatments being administered to similar types of patients.
Though the current clinical trial participation rate for cancer patients can be discouraging, there are reasons for optimism. The Gulf South NCORP clinical trials network mentioned above could serve as a case study for other states looking to expand trials outside of major research institutions into community health centers. More programs like this could help overcome the current geographical limitations (e.g. not enough patients are conveniently located near a major research hospital). Additionally, technology and novel use of existing patient data can be used to connect patients to potential lifesaving treatments that they otherwise would not have known existed. Advertising for the recruitment of research subjects is considered the beginning of the informed consent process. As such, patient recruitment materials and advertising require IRB review and approval before being posted. Learn more about how Pearl IRB can assist with your patient recruitment efforts.
1 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/cancer-treatment-progress-stunted-by-lack-of-volunteers