Clinical Trial Availability: An Analysis of Limited Clinical Trial Options for Cancer Patients in Ontario
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Challenges Theme
Open Challenge
Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Caroline Hamm
Proposal
BACKGROUNDClinical research has developed successful treatments for patients, creating a critical source of hope for those who have exhausted standard of care treatment, allowing access to innovative therapies which may positively impact quality of life or survival outcomes. Despite this, less than 5% of patients are enrolled in a clinical trial.PROBLEMA barrier to patient enrolment in clinical trials is the strict eligibility criteria for participation. When searching for a clinical trial, the number of results returned to the patient is often an inaccurate representation of the number of trials that they are eligible for, revealing a key misconception that there are plenty of clinical trials available for patients.METHODSThis study uses Clinical Trials Navigators (CTNs) to conduct searches for patients across multiple clinical trial search engines. During their search, CTNs recorded the number of trials returned by each search and assessed the eligibility criteria of each result to determine the number of trials that the patient is truly eligible for. Physicians then determined which trials are appropriate given the patient's health history.RESULTSOur findings reveal out of 241 patients, there were only 1-3 trials identified as non-phase 1; or non-phase 1/2 with the median being 1 eligible trial per patient. There is limited data on how many trials these patients successfully enrolled in after physician review, but it is anticipated to be a low percentage.CONCLUSIONOverall, this study emphasizes the limited availability of clinical trials for patients, contributing to low enrolment statistics in Ontario.
Grand Challenges
Viable, Healthy and Safe Communities
Clinical Trial Availability: An Analysis of Limited Clinical Trial Options for Cancer Patients in Ontario
BACKGROUNDClinical research has developed successful treatments for patients, creating a critical source of hope for those who have exhausted standard of care treatment, allowing access to innovative therapies which may positively impact quality of life or survival outcomes. Despite this, less than 5% of patients are enrolled in a clinical trial.PROBLEMA barrier to patient enrolment in clinical trials is the strict eligibility criteria for participation. When searching for a clinical trial, the number of results returned to the patient is often an inaccurate representation of the number of trials that they are eligible for, revealing a key misconception that there are plenty of clinical trials available for patients.METHODSThis study uses Clinical Trials Navigators (CTNs) to conduct searches for patients across multiple clinical trial search engines. During their search, CTNs recorded the number of trials returned by each search and assessed the eligibility criteria of each result to determine the number of trials that the patient is truly eligible for. Physicians then determined which trials are appropriate given the patient's health history.RESULTSOur findings reveal out of 241 patients, there were only 1-3 trials identified as non-phase 1; or non-phase 1/2 with the median being 1 eligible trial per patient. There is limited data on how many trials these patients successfully enrolled in after physician review, but it is anticipated to be a low percentage.CONCLUSIONOverall, this study emphasizes the limited availability of clinical trials for patients, contributing to low enrolment statistics in Ontario.