A lung cancer research team from Oxford Brookes University has developed a new tool to improve awareness of lung cancer clinical trials and help patients understand if a clinical trial was right for them.
Funded by Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, the tool was produced in response to drop in clinical trial participants since the pandemic.
The team initially sought to identify the potential barriers which could prevent people from taking part in clinical trials and found travel and time constraints, financial concerns, geographic disparity and understaffing in lung cancer departments all to be potential barriers.
A lack of relevant information was also identified, with patients expressing a need for clear and concise messaging regarding clinical trials.
They found that many patients were unaware of clinical trial opportunities that could be available to them and, as a result, would welcome more information and, in particular, a printed resource with information about trials to help patients make informed choices about whether a clinical trial was right for them or not.
Not only can clinical trials pave the way for new treatment options in the future, they also offer much-needed hope to patients. And for those living with lung cancer, hope is their rocket fuel.
Paula Chadwick, chief executive of Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation
The review and focus group findings were used to produce a prototype tool before finally developing a patient leaflet that nurses could use to introduce their patients to clinical trials as a potential option.
The design meant that patients could take the information away with them, allowing them to digest and revisit the information when it suited them.
The Lung I-ACT team will now gather survey data and conduct interviews over the next six months to identify whether the resources have been effective in improving conversations about clinical trial and increasing uptake.
Paula Chadwick, chief executive of Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said: “The Lung I-ACT study is such a vital piece of research and one that we as a charity is proud to fund.
“The decline in participation in lung cancer clinical trials since the pandemic is highly concerning. Lung cancer treatments have come a long way in recent years and this doesn’t happen without clinical trials and their participants.
“Clinical trials play a crucial part in our fight against lung cancer. Not only can trials pave the way for new treatment options in the future, they also offer much-needed hope to patients. And for those living with lung cancer, hope is their rocket fuel.”
Professor Catherine Henshall, Chief Investigator of the Lung I-ACT project said: “The aim is that once the new resource is rolled out nationally it will enable patients to have much better information about, and access to, new and innovative treatments from clinical trials that could ultimately save lives.”
For any further information, please contact lung-i-act@brookes.ac.uk