Lack of volunteers remains cancer research burden

There are more cancer treatments hitting market than ever before. But as the New York Times reports, although cancer continues to grow as a health problem, the amount of quality clinical research being conducted has not kept up.

Of the 6,500 cancer trials seeking adult patients, many will be abandoned before their completion due to underenrollment. A recent study in The Oncologist notes that more than one in five trials backed by the National Cancer Institute failed to enroll even one patient, and only half had were completed with enough volunteers to produce meaningful data. In general, the cancer trials that are able to enroll patients are small and don't make significant advancements; only one in five studies is published, researchers said. 

Many patients decide not to enroll in trials because they'd rather be treated with an approved medication or because they cannot cope with the additional responsibilities that come with participating in trials. There's also the potential of being assigned to a placebo group. Of course, most patients who do decide to enroll are those that have no other treatment options. 

Patients are usually recruited by their physicians, but that's also becoming difficult as doctors weigh the costs and benefits for their own practices. But according to the NY Times, most oncologists prefer not to act as stewards for clinical trials as they make little-to-nothing on trials, and could end up losing money or business.

- read the piece
- here's the study from The Oncologist

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