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Current Oncology
Volume 23
Issue 3
10.3747/co.23.2394
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Current Oncology is published by MDPI from Volume 28 Issue 1 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence, and they are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Multimed Inc..
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Short Communication

Can the Referring Surgeon Enhance Accrual of Breast Cancer Patients to Medical and Radiation Oncology Trials? The Enhance Study

by
A. Arnaout
1,*,
I. Kuchuk
2,
N. Bouganim
3,
G. Pond
4,
S. Verma
2,
R. Segal
2,
S. Dent
2,
S. Gertler
2,
X. Song
2,
F. Kanji
4 and
M. Clemons
2
1
Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, Ottawa General Hospital, and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
2
Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Ottawa General Hospital, and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
3
Division of Medical Oncology, Segal Cancer Centre, and Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
4
Department of Oncology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
5
Clinical Trials Department, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Curr. Oncol. 2016, 23(3), 276-279; https://doi.org/10.3747/co.23.2394
Submission received: 8 March 2016 / Revised: 6 April 2016 / Accepted: 10 May 2016 / Published: 1 June 2016

Abstract

Introduction: The accrual rate to clinical trials in oncology remains low. In this exploratory pilot study, we prospectively assessed the role that engaging a referring surgeon plays in enhancing nonsurgical oncologic clinical trial accrual. Methods: Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients were seen by a surgeon who actively introduced specific patient-and physician-centred strategies to increase clinical trial accrual. Patient-centred strategies included providing patients, before their oncology appointment, with information about specific clinical trials for which they might be eligible, as evaluated by the surgeon. The attitudes of the patients about clinical trials and the interventions used to improve accrual were assessed at the end of the study. The primary outcome was the clinical trial accrual rate during the study period. Results: Overall clinical trial enrolment during the study period among the 34 participating patients was 15% (5 of 34), which is greater than the institution’s historical average of 7%. All patients found the information delivered by the surgeon before the oncology appointment to be very helpful. Almost three quarters of the patients (73%) were informed about clinical trials by their oncologist. The top reasons for nonparticipation reported by the patients who did not participate in clinical trials included lack of interest (35%), failure of the oncologist to mention clinical trials (33%), and inconvenience (19%). Conclusions: Accrual of patients to clinical trials is a complex multistep process with multiple potential barriers. The findings of this exploratory pilot study demonstrate a potential role for the referring surgeon in enhancing nonsurgical clinical trial accrual.
Keywords: clinical trials; accrual strategies clinical trials; accrual strategies

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Arnaout, A.; Kuchuk, I.; Bouganim, N.; Pond, G.; Verma, S.; Segal, R.; Dent, S.; Gertler, S.; Song, X.; Kanji, F.; et al. Can the Referring Surgeon Enhance Accrual of Breast Cancer Patients to Medical and Radiation Oncology Trials? The Enhance Study. Curr. Oncol. 2016, 23, 276-279. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.23.2394

AMA Style

Arnaout A, Kuchuk I, Bouganim N, Pond G, Verma S, Segal R, Dent S, Gertler S, Song X, Kanji F, et al. Can the Referring Surgeon Enhance Accrual of Breast Cancer Patients to Medical and Radiation Oncology Trials? The Enhance Study. Current Oncology. 2016; 23(3):276-279. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.23.2394

Chicago/Turabian Style

Arnaout, A., I. Kuchuk, N. Bouganim, G. Pond, S. Verma, R. Segal, S. Dent, S. Gertler, X. Song, F. Kanji, and et al. 2016. "Can the Referring Surgeon Enhance Accrual of Breast Cancer Patients to Medical and Radiation Oncology Trials? The Enhance Study" Current Oncology 23, no. 3: 276-279. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.23.2394

APA Style

Arnaout, A., Kuchuk, I., Bouganim, N., Pond, G., Verma, S., Segal, R., Dent, S., Gertler, S., Song, X., Kanji, F., & Clemons, M. (2016). Can the Referring Surgeon Enhance Accrual of Breast Cancer Patients to Medical and Radiation Oncology Trials? The Enhance Study. Current Oncology, 23(3), 276-279. https://doi.org/10.3747/co.23.2394

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