Representativeness in cancer treatment trials in community and academic settings

May 25, 2023

Summary

The representativeness of clinical trial participants with cancer is a crucial aspect in the generalizability of research findings to the broader patient population. However, the impact of practice setting on the representativeness of trial participants remains unknown. In this study, researchers set out to understand two key aspects: 

  1. The demographic differences between cancer treatment trial participants enrolled at academic sites and those in the community
  2. The extent to which trial patient characteristics align with those of the overall patient population within each practice setting 

Why this matters

The findings from this study shed light on the potential benefits of community site participation in enhancing the representativeness of cancer treatment trials. Moreover, they emphasize the need for targeted solutions to optimize trial representativeness across both academic and community practice settings. 

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