黑料吃瓜资源

黑料吃瓜资源 Associate Professor and Cancer Center member Tobias Janowitz led a COVID-19 clinical trial with Northwell Health in 2021. When he and Clinical Fellow Hassal Lee reviewed the data, a surprising trend emerged. 鈥淭he patient roster was very diverse,鈥� Janowitz explains. 鈥淲e鈥檇 made no deliberate effort toward that other than conducting the trial remotely.鈥�

When it comes to cancer trials, many variables impact patient participation. One measurable factor is distance. On average, people are less likely to sign up for trials more than 30 minutes away. Karen Winkfield, Executive Director of the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance and member of the National Cancer Advisory Board, says:

鈥淭he biggest reason patients don鈥檛 enroll is they鈥檙e not asked. They aren鈥檛 asked because there may not be clinical trials close to them.鈥�

Now, Janowitz and Lee have developed a new approach that may help clinics recruit patients from more communities. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Trial Registry, and other publicly funded organizations, the team created population maps for areas around highly active cancer trial sites. They found that high-volume sites are often in affluent neighborhoods with less diverse populations.

鈥淐linical trials should be accessible to all,鈥� Janowitz says. 鈥淐urrently, 78 sites host about 94% of all U.S. cancer trials. We offer a new approach for these and other sites to use available data in designing more equitable clinical trials.鈥�

With their new tool, the team analyzed the sites鈥� neighboring areas. They then identified nearby hospitals serving more diverse communities. Collaborating with these potential satellite sites could help expand patient recruitment efforts.

鈥淔or example, if you wanted to diversify the population for a clinical trial, you could use our tool to generate maps with whatever demographics you want,鈥� Lee explains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 transferable to any U.S. area as long as you have Census data.鈥�

Janowitz and his team are now working to expand their analysis to other population segments and trials unrelated to cancer. They hope their new approach will help streamline clinical trials. Winkfield, who co-authored the study, says:

鈥淲e can do a much better job of providing access to clinical trials in the communities where it matters most. If we鈥檙e able to use this tool to make real collaborations with community health centers and hospitals that are interested, this could be a game changer.鈥�

The next step is to measure potential real-world impact. Janowitz and Lee suggest applying their approach to design new cancer trials. If they鈥檙e right, the trials will be more readily available to all.

Written by: Nick Wurm, Communications Specialist | [email protected] | 516-367-5940

Citation

Lee, H., et al., 鈥淎nalysis and Optimization of Equitable U.S. Cancer Clinical Trial Center Access by Travel Time鈥�, JAMA Oncology, March 21, 2024. DOI: