Cancer patients participating in treatment trials is twice as high than historical estimates, a recent study found.
The study, published April 2 in Journal of Clinical Oncology, obtained data from the Commission of Cancer programs, which represents more than 70% of all cancer cases diagnosed in the nation each year. The patient data was collected between 2013 and 2017.
The study found patient participation rates in cancer treatment trials was 7.1%, more than two times higher than historical estimates. Here are three other findings:
- Treatment trial enrollment was 21.6% at National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers, 5.4% at academic comprehensive cancer programs, 5.7% at integrated network cancer programs and 4.1% at community programs.
- Nearly 22% of patients participated in one or more cancer clinical research studies.
- Cancer patients participated in a variety of studies, including biorepository (12.9%), registry (7.3%), genetic (3.6%), QOL (2.8%), diagnostic (2.5%) and economic (2.4%) studies.