Consider national and local stakeholder enthusiasm for the trial

Evaluate the level of scientific interest in the trial from the field and your institution

  • Does interest in the protocol vary if it is for a community or academic setting?  Discuss your idea at your home institution and use what you learn from conferences, journals, and online communities to form an opinion about the level of scientific interest. 

Evaluate the level of commitment from the field and your institution with an eye toward trial feasibility 

  • Even when investigators are enthusiastic about the science behind a trial, you should look at other factors that may make them unable to commit—such as the lack of staff or funding, or even a participant population that differs too greatly from the needs of the trial.

Check for competing trials at your institution and nationally 

  • What other relevant research is underway, either funded by a grant or sponsored by a pharmaceutical or biotechnology firm?  Check within your institution and with other institutions to see what trials, open or planned, are related to the cancer type or study topic you are considering. Competing trials are especially problematic for research on rare types of cancer.

Literature and Tools (36)

Image Representing Resource Type (Journal Article)
Addressing challenges in cancer trials accrual: a look in the mirror.
Posted: Nov 01, 2012.
Michaels M. Appl Clin Trials Online. 2012 Oct 05. 6 pages.
KEYWORDS: Logistics/Transportation, Level of Clinical Trials Knowledge or Awareness, Staff Experience Level, Provider-Patient Relationship, Institutional Issues, Eligibility, Cancer
Image Representing Resource Type (Journal Review Article)
Factors Influencing Inclusion of Patients with Malignancies in Clinical Trials.
Posted: Sep 13, 2012.
Tournoux C, Katsahian S, Chevret S, Levy V. Cancer. 2006 Jan 15. 106. 2. 258-70.
KEYWORDS: Knowledge/Attitudes/Beliefs, Logistics/Transportation, Staff Experience Level, Inadequate Staffing, Eligibility, Study Burden, Consent, Older Adults, Minority Groups, Cancer
Image Representing Resource Type (Journal Article)
Clinical research for neuropathies.
Posted: Sep 04, 2012.
Kaufmann P. J Peripher Nerv Syst. 2012 May. 17. Suppl 2. 40-2.
KEYWORDS: Knowledge/Attitudes/Beliefs, Level of Clinical Trials Knowledge or Awareness, Institutional Issues, Non-Cancer
Image Representing Resource Type (Journal Article)
A systematic review of reasons for nonentry of eligible patients into surgical randomized controlled trials.
Posted: Jun 28, 2012.
Abraham NS, Young JM, Solomon MJ. Surgery. 2006 Apr. 139. 4. 469-83.
KEYWORDS: Knowledge/Attitudes/Beliefs, Attitudes, Placebo, Randomization, Study Burden, Consent, Provider Influence, Treatment
Image Representing Resource Type (Journal Article)
Challenges to accrual predictions to phase III cancer clinical trials: a survey of study chairs and lead statisticians of 248 NCI-sponsored trials.
Posted: Apr 27, 2012.
Schroen AT, Petroni GR, Wang H, Thielen MJ, Sargent D, Benedetti JK, Cronin WM, Wickerham DL, Wang XF, Gray R, Cohn WF, Slingluff CL, Djulbegovic B. Clin Trials. 2011 Oct. 8. 5. 591-600.
KEYWORDS: Logistics/Transportation

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