Improving patient recruitment to cancer clinical trials: opportunities for cancer nurses
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Improving patient recruitment to cancer clinical trials: opportunities for cancer nurses

Christopher Dodd Postdoctoral research assistant, Oxford Institute of Applied Health Research, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, England
Benjamin Lond Postdoctoral research assistant, Oxford Institute of Applied Health Research, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, England
Zoe Davey Research fellow, Oxford Institute of Applied Health Research, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, England
Liz Darlison Consultant nurse, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, England
John McPhelim Lead lung cancer specialist nurse, University Hospital Hairmyres, East Kilbride, Scotland
Janette Rawlinson Patient advocate, European Lung Foundation, Sheffield, England
Iain Richard Williamson Professor of critical health psychology, De Montfort University, Leicester, England
Catherine Henshall Professor of nursing, Oxford Institute of Applied Health Research, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To understand the role of clinical trials in patients receiving novel cancer treatments

  • To learn about some of the challenges involved in recruiting patients to cancer clinical trials

  • To appreciate how nurses can help to improve recruitment to cancer clinical trials by signposting patients to detailed information

In the UK, the recruitment of patients with cancer to clinical trials has deteriorated due to current political, societal, financial and clinical challenges as well as historic barriers to participation. Cancer nurses can help to improve recruitment by discussing clinical trials with patients and their families or carers. To do this effectively, nurses require an understanding of some of the challenges regarding participation as well as knowledge of what trials are available for their patients, what participation may entail and how and where to signpost patients to more detailed information. This article discusses some of the challenges to recruitment of patients to cancer clinical trials and considers the potential role of the nurse in increasing patient enrolment. The main focus of the article is lung cancer, but the issues discussed are relevant to nurses working in all areas of cancer care.

Cancer Nursing Practice. doi: 10.7748/cnp.2024.e1869

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@OxInAHR

Correspondence

c.dodd@brookes.ac.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Dodd C, Lond B, Davey Z et al (2024) Improving patient recruitment to cancer clinical trials: opportunities for cancer nurses. Cancer Nursing Practice. doi: 10.7748/cnp.2024.e1869

Acknowledgements

The article has been produced as part of the Lung I-ACT project funded by the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. The first author acknowledges the support of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre, NIHR Oxford Health Clinical Research Facility and the Oxford Institute for Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Research (OxINMAHR). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR, UK NHS or the UK Department of Health and Social Care

Published online: 24 July 2024

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