Abstract PO-105: Improving cancer care through inclusive clinical trials: An online collaborative community to improve representation in cancer clinical trials

Abstract

Abstract Background: Diverse enrollment in clinical trials is a challenge for study sponsors, sites and patients. Non-Caucasians are underrepresented in cancer clinical trials relative to the burden of cancer they experience (1). Clinical trial participation disparities indicate inequities in current treatment options, impede advancements in medical research and drug development and perpetuate inequities in care to tomorrow's patients. Patients, providers, community leaders and researchers must work together to ensure all populations are included in clinical trials in order to produce comprehensive safety and efficacy profiles for potentially life-saving treatments. In a survey by LUNGevity, industry sposors reported having metrics for diversity and inclusion as well as a commitment to expanding site selection to include more minority-servicing sites with trusted community insights and engagement practices (2). A variety of independent resources exists to guide stakeholders and increase the representation in clincal trials; however, there is no common repository for accessing resources, reviewing opportunities for improvment and learning how to implement best practices. A dedicated platform helps researchers and patients answer common questions, such as: 1. Where are clinical trial sites with diverse patient populations? 2. How can community influence research? 3. How can sites, sponsors, CROs and patient advocates address barriers to participation? Methods: The National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF), through its Diverse Cancer Communities Working group, partnered with Medidata's Social Innovation Lab to build a virtual "Collaborative Community" - a moderated, web-based platform to share resources, best practices, and to crowd source solutions for inclusive clinical trial development. The pilot (July 2021) links to NMQF's Lung Cancer Index (3) to help stakeholders visualize lung cancer Medicare claims and other data in the United States by patient demographics and geography, with an overlay of clinical trial sites to help stakeholders find the best collaborators. Results: 20 stakeholders participating in the platform each with roles in clinical trial operations representative of sponsors, CROs, sites and patient advocacy. The pilot is evaluating engagement engagement metrics, including actie views, content sharing, discussion frequency and user-reported impact. Conclusions: Participating stakeholders from multiple areas of clinical development contribute to building capacity and experience within and across organizations that deliver representative clinical trials. Citation Format: Erin Fenske Williams, Mary Stober Murray, Victoria Rollins, Anupama Santhosh, Jeanne Regnante. Improving cancer care through inclusive clinical trials: An online collaborative community to improve representation in cancer clinical trials [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2021 Oct 6-8. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-105.