Goal Area: Clinical Research

GOAL: Increase cancer research to improve cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.   

Central to the cancer research cycle is clinical research, most often conducted through clinical trials. Vital for moving new methods of preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer from the lab to people, clinical trials safely and methodically test new drugs, devices, methods, approaches, and other interventions.^lxxxiv Clinical trials also offer people the opportunity to try promising new treatments or drugs before they are readily available. 

Clinical trial participation remains difficult to measure, however a recent study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggests that the overall estimated patient enrollment rate to cancer treatment trials had reached 7.1% from 2013-2017, higher than historical estimates of 2%-3%.^lxxxv The majority of treatment trial enrollment at 21.6% was at National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated centers, with 11% enrolled at non-NCI designated cancer programs and networks.   

The number of clinical trials professionals in Nevada has trended slightly downward in recent years. Barriers to providing clinical trials noted by our partners include the associated costs to an organization, lack of available staffing and support, and clinician time. When physicians offer clinical trial participation to patients, almost 50% report participating.^lxxxvi  According to NCI, there are multi-level barriers to patients participating in trials which include concerns about costs, time burden, and lack of transportation. These challenges are coupled with historical mistrust, medically underserved racial and ethnic groups, and, in Nevada, a lack of knowledge regarding clinical trials to further disparities in clinical trial enrollment.^lxxxvii