Since a Phase I trial has prolonged my life for almost seven years, I find it perplexing that fewer than 5 percent of adult American cancer patients enroll in clinical studies. Why do so few people — with various stages and types of cancer — participate in research that can improve care?
One obstacle may be the baffling scaffolding scientists erect around their studies. For example, cancer is a disease of aging, but many clinical trials on cancer drugs exclude older people from participating.
One study, in The Journal of Clinical Oncology, found that older patients "are underrepresented in cancer clinical trials relative to their disease burden."
In another study on the exclusion of large segments of cancer populations, published last year in The Oncologist, researchers argued that "the criteria for participation in some clinical trials may be overly restrictive and limit enrollment."
But the problem of low enrollment is often attributed to patient resistance. The reluctance of some patients makes perfect sense to me. Fear about unforeseen side effects escalates when consent forms, like the ones I signed, state that a new regimen cannot cure but might kill patients.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/20/well/live/the-need-for-clinical-trial-navigators.html
