Jennifer L. Redmond | OncologyLive | 26 March 2014
Patients fear being a “guinea pig” or receiving a placebo, healthcare providers do not have time to keep up with all of the clinical trial information or talk with patients in depth, conducting clinical trials is very expensive for healthcare systems, and funding continues to decline for research. With all of these barriers, it is not surprising that only 3% of adult patients with cancer participate in clinical trials.1
Obstacles can be found throughout the system, including the patient and family who may be fearful or confused by the trial, the healthcare professional with little time to spend on clinical trials, and a healthcare system struggling with the costs and inefficiencies of conducting them.