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Few Cancer Patients Take Advantage of
Clinical Trials
May 22, 2008
MADISON- Why do so few cancer patients take advantage of clinical
trials? A new study says one reason is they are not hearing that
such trials are a treatment option for them.
Sixty percent of newly diagnosed cancer patients say they were
never told that such clinical trials were a treatment option
for them, according to researchers at the Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive
Cancer Center of the University of Wisconsin School of
Medicine and Public Health (SMPH).
Lead investigator Timothy Wassenaar, MD, MS will present the findings
at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology,
to be held in Chicago from May 30 to June 3, 2008.
"It could be that newly diagnosed patients don't hear anything
else from the physician after they're told they have cancer. It
doesn't necessarily mean that physicians aren't giving patients
the information," Wassenaar noted as one possible explanation
for the findings. Earlier studies found that only 2 to 4 percent
of new adult cancer patients participate in clinical trials. The
Carbone Cancer Center, Wisconsin's only comprehensive cancer center,
offers 250 clinical trials a year. Seven hundred patients participated
in clinical trials at the cancer center last year.
"The take-home message is that participating in clinical
trials not only helps researchers and physicians learn about better
ways to treat cancer. But all patients who participate in such
trials get state-of-the-art cancer care," said Dr.
Patrick Remington, associate director of Carbone Cancer Center and co-investigator
on the study.
Wassenaar and his team studied nearly 1900 Wisconsin cancer patients.
The patients had been diagnosed with one of four cancers including
breast, colorectal, lung and prostate.
"The data show that breast, colorectal and lung cancer patients
are more likely to participate in clinical trials as compared to
prostate cancer patients," stated Wassenaar, who is completing
a hematology fellowship at the SMPH.
According to the study, 9.8 percent of breast cancer patients and
approximately 11 percent of both lung and colorectal cancer patients
sign up for clinical trials. In contrast, only 2.5 percent of prostate
cancer patients are likely to enroll. The national average for participation
in all clinical trials is about 3 percent, according to national
studies.
Wassenaar says patients who have to travel distances for care, live
in a rural setting or are involved in cancer-specific support groups
are more likely to participate in clinical trials. Patients who
are not satisfied with their care are less likely to try clinical
trials.
Wassenaar said more research is needed on exactly why many cancer
patients don't participate in clinical trials and what methods might
be more effective in communicating that clinical trials are a treatment
option.
"One of the major barriers to participation in clinical trials
was eliminated in Wisconsin last year with passage of a law that
mandates insurance companies to cover costs of patients in clinical
trials," noted Remington. A total of 23 states have similar
laws, according to the Council for Affordable Health Insurance.
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