Geographic distribution of clinical trials for common advanced-stage cancers in the United States.

Abstract

e18503 Background: This study examines the geographic distribution of clinical trials for common types of metastatic cancer in the United States and the accessibility of these trials to the general population. Methods: We accessed the ClinicalTrials.gov website and conducted a search for interventional clinical trials that were actively recruiting patients for diagnoses of metastatic lung, colon, pancreas, breast, and prostate cancers on November 25, 2022. We identified unique zip codes for all the clinical trials offered and calculated the U.S. population living within 50 miles of a clinical trial site using geographic information system software based on 2020 census data. We created maps for each cancer type, demonstrating the geographic distribution of clinical trial access in the United States. Results: We found a significant number of clinical trials providing access for most Americans diagnosed with the most common types of metastatic cancer. The majority of the United States population lives within 50 miles of a clinical trial. The access varied by cancer type studied, from 75.0% of the United States population for metastatic colon cancer to 90.2% for metastatic lung and breast cancers. See table for details. Conclusions: When considering the accessibility of these trials, we found that a large proportion of the United States population lived within 50 miles of a clinical trial site. This suggests that while many clinical trials are available, they may not be evenly distributed across the country and may not be accessible to all individuals. [Table: see text]