Barriers to patient enrolment in oncology clinical trials at a Canadian regional cancer centre: a mixed methods study

Abstract

Background: Randomized controlled trials are required to assess the safety and efficacy of new cancer medications in humans for marketing approval. Thereby, efforts to inform strategies to improve low enrolment rates are imperative to prevent slower rates and increased cost of development. The aim of this study was to identify and examine the impact of barriers to clinical trials enrolment at the R. S. McLaughlin Durham Regional Cancer Centre (DRCC). Methods and Results: A mixed-methods approach was used for this study and the following methods were used: (1) Retrospective exploratory analysis, (2) Patient surveys, (3) Key informants semi-structured interviews. Results were analyzed using Ford's (2008) framework to categorize barriers as they pertain to awareness, opportunity, and decision to take part in oncology clinical trials. The results of this study support previous literature and was the first study to use both qualitative and quantitative to explore enrolment at the DRCC.