Annual household incomes have an influence over whether people decide to participate in a cancer clinical trial, according to a study presented over the weekend at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting.
The study was led by Joseph M. Unger, M.S., Ph.C., of the SWOG Statistical Center and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. The study surveyed 5,499 patients who registered with the treatment decision tool created and run by NexCura.
Just 7.6 percent of survey takers who reported an annual household income under $50,000 reported participating in clinical trials, compared to 10 percent of survey takers who reported incomes of $50,000 or higher.
Researchers noted that this may be problematic in the sense that lower income patients may not have equal access to the cutting edge treatment offered at clinical trials. Those survey takers expressed concern over how they would pay for the treatment provided at clinical trials, and how they would deal with the so-called hidden costs, such as missing work due to the demands of the trials.
Researchers are always seeking ways to boost clinical trial participation, since it helps speed treatment developments and because the broader swath of society taking part will give them greater confidence that the treatment under investigation will be effective across the entire spectrum of patients.
Source: ASCO
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