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 providers in Nevada has trended slightly downward in recent years. Barriers to providing clinical trials noted by our providers include the associated costs to an organization, lack of available staffing and support, and provider time. When providers 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
Objectives
Objective: Increase provider participation in cancer research.
Strategies:
- Establish a statewide network of cancer research and clinical trial providers to improve Nevada’s research infrastructure, share resources, and mentor future clinical trial providers.
- Develop a model and resources for becoming a clinical trial provider.
- Educate providers on providing access to clinical trials for patients in their practice.
- Provide a central location for providers to identify clinical trials for patients, including clinicaltrials.gov and Nevada NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) website.
Objective: Increase the community’s awareness and understanding of cancer research and clinical trials.
Strategies:
- Provide a comprehensive list of cancer research opportunities for public use including clinicaltrials.gov and Nevada NCORP website.
- Identify barriers and facilitators for patients to participate in clinical trials in Nevada.
- Develop and disseminate education campaigns to inform the public about cancer research, including clinical trials.
- Develop a toolkit for how patients can participate in clinical trials and community-based research, including mobile phlebotomy, decentralized trials, home self-collection, and self-enrollment.
Indicators
Individual members in clinical research network
Baseline: 0
Target: 30
Annual number of provider-focused educational opportunities
Baseline: 0
Target: 1
Number of comprehensive resources for searching clinical trials
Baseline: 1
Target: 3
Number of educational campaigns
Baseline: 1
Target: 3
Source: Nevada Cancer Coalition
References
lxxxiv National Cancer Institute. "NCI's Clinical Trials Programs and Initiatives." 14 June 2024, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10023071/.
lxxxvi National Cancer Institute. "HINTS Brief 48: Clinical Trial Participation Among US Adults." Accessed 18 June 2025, https://hints.cancer.gov/publications-reports/hints-briefs.aspx.
lxxxvii Onega, T., et al. Community Health Assessment Survey: Rural & Frontier. University of Utah Health and Huntsman Cancer Institute, 2025.