Clinical trials have been recognized as an important means when developing and

evaluating new means of clinical treatment.1 Despite the importance of clinical trials, very few

patients enroll in them. I feel that this is a disservice to the patients, advancement of the field,

and researchers who desperately search for a higher quality of care.

It is important that we as medical professionals determine the holes in understanding in

order to make patients and physicians more receptive to the benefits of clinical trials.

Undoubtedly, patients worry about side effects, costs/insurance coverage, being a placebo, and

the possibility that they may be a medical guinea pig without protections. Many of these

concerns are legitimate and must be addressed by physicians and investigators. Unfortunately, a

large majority of physicians are also skeptical or close minded and will only bring trials to the

table as a last ditch effort for patients. Often times, they instead refer to more traditional methods

and will only consider trials in late stage patients. At this point, the efficacy of many of the

trialed interventions are low and the true therapeutic effect is not displayed. In order to avoid

discrediting the mindset of the physician, we must remember that many of their protocols are

based off of retrospective data, in which they see a clear beneficial/harmful effect of the

interventions they use. Clinical trials are prospective, lacking a predictable outcome and make

the physician more hesitant to employ them on large populations.2

In order to combat the lack of understanding and develop better treatment methodology, it is

imperative that we focus on the education of patients and physicians to better the perception of

clinical trials and lead to higher enrollment. Studies that show physician bias/hesitation could
 effectively alter the mindset of that particular population, which will also trickle down to the

patients as more physicians consider the possibility for external interventions.

1. Cox K, McGarry J. Why patients don't take part in cancer clinical trials: an overview of the literature. Advances in
pediatrics. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12787008. Published June 2003. Accessed June 20, 2018.
2. Lenards, N. Protocols and Studies. [SoftChalk]. La Crosse, WI: UW-L Medical Dosimetry Program; 2018