Clinical Trial Participation

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Anchor lead: What are barriers to clinical trial participation for those with cancer? Elizabeth Tracey reports

Clinical trials offer both the best care and the greatest hope for many people with cancer, yet a recent study indicates that one barrier to enrolling may be the bias of trial managers, whose own perceptions may keep eligible participants out. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, comments.

Nelson: What’s interesting about this whole field is I think many of the general thoughts about barriers to participation by different race and ethnic groups, and different folks from socioeconomic status I think they’re beginning to be a little bit more clarified and they aren’t I think what people had initially thought. Some of them really are logistical and financial and other things and then with this then they can be more directly addressed.  :27

Nelson says the best advice to someone with a cancer diagnosis is to ask to participate in a clinical trial and be up front about issues such as transportation that may prove to be a problem so a solution can be found. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.