Importance of Clinical Trials in Cancer Treatment

Historically, less than 10% of adults with cancer participate in clinical trials, even though these trials can offer new treatment options.

Study Objective

This study aimed to see if informing oncologists about specific clinical trials, identified by artificial intelligence (AI), would increase participation when patients’ cancer worsened.

Study Details

This study took place at a major cancer center from January 2023 to June 2024. It included adult patients with solid tumors who had genetic testing done over several years.

What Happened During the Study

Patients were split into two groups: one group received notifications about available clinical trials when their cancer progressed, while the other group did not.

Main Findings

The study found that sending notifications did not significantly increase the number of patients enrolling in clinical trials.

Details of Results

Of 20,707 patients, 13,802 were in the intervention group and 6,905 in the control group.
Trial enrollment was 2.20% in the intervention group and 2.03% in the control group.
No significant difference was found in trial participation based on additional factors such as treatment readiness or systemic therapy initiation.

Conclusion

Informing oncologists about targeted clinical trials based on AI analysis did not lead to increased enrollment in these trials. Future efforts should explore broader applications of AI in clinical trial recruitment.