The greatest barrier to clinical trial enrollment is patients not knowing an appropriate trial exists, according to a survey of gynecologic cancer survivors.
The most common reason survey respondents gave for not enrolling in clinical trials was that their medical team didn't tell them about any trials.
Annie Ellis and Mary (Dicey) Jackson Scroggins – who are both patient advocates and ovarian cancer survivors – conducted this survey and presented the results at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer last year (https://bit.ly/3plI1Vg).
Ms. Ellis discussed the survey results and other related research with host David H. Henry, MD, in this episode.
Ms. Ellis and Ms. Scroggins distributed their 26-question survey online. The survey was completed by 189 survivors of gynecologic cancers.
Most respondents (65.6%) had never participated in a clinical trial. Reasons for nonparticipation included:
Roughly a third of respondents (34.4%) had participated in a clinical trial.
Ms. Ellis also mentioned a recent review and meta-analysis, which showed that more than half of all cancer patients offered a clinical trial do participate (J Natl Cancer Inst. 2020 Oct 6. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djaa155. https://bit.ly/2Yg4dnP).
Together, these finding suggests cancer patients may be willing to participate in trials but often don’t know that relevant trials exist.
Ms. Ellis noted that her colleague, Ms. Scroggins, often says, “Patients can't go to the party if they don't get an invitation.”
Disclosures
Ms. Ellis, Ms. Scroggins, and Dr. Henry have no conflicts of interest.
* * *
For more MDedge Podcasts, go to www.mdedge.com/podcasts
Email the show: podcasts@mdedge.com
Interact with us on Twitter: @MDedgehemonc
David Henry on Twitter: @davidhenrymd
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.