Abstract A045: Increasing minority accrual in breast cancer clinical trials through a multidisciplinary approach
Authors: Largaespada Valesca , Hurst Samantha , Bradley Savannah M , Acosta Myriam I , Unkart Jonathan , Blair Sarah , Nodora Jesse 
Published: September 2020

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Hispanic/Latina women in the United States (U.S.). Yet, therapeutic cancer clinical trial enrollment among Hispanic/Latina women remains low. Barriers to participation are varied and multifactorial. Health provider and system level barriers at cancer centers in the U.S. include language and cultural discordant communication among providers and patients, transportation (to/from study site), and provider discomfort and skepticism in patient adherence. Recent studies have found that Hispanic/Latina women do not exhibit major concerns related to trust and if adequately informed and invited to participate in therapeutic trials, they are likely to do so. A qualitative study was conducted to understand the factors that influence participation in breast cancer clinical trials among Hispanic/Latina breast cancer patients. We conducted 10 semi-structured in-depth interviews in Spanish with women currently receiving radiation treatment, to identify patient level barriers and facilitators for clinical trial participation. Participants were recruited from the University of California (UC) San Diego Moores Cancer Center and UC Health System-affiliated radiation oncology center. Data were analyzed using a conventional content analysis framework to describe the personal and emotional reactions of Hispanic/Latina women who have been breast cancer patients. The main strength of this approach is to allow ideas and beliefs to emerge from the data to provide new insights that capture key thoughts and values of our participants and their treatment experiences and preferences. The analysis and interpretation were specifically conducted in Spanish to maintain language and cultural concordance with our participants. The final analyses were translated from Spanish to English by bilingual and bicultural study investigators. Preliminary findings reveal that Hispanic/Latina women are more likely to participate in breast cancer clinical trials if study information is delivered in-person, the study location is geographically close to their home, they receive appointment reminders by phone or text, study appointment duration is short, the study uses less invasive medications/treatments, and study personnel deliver a supportive experience (i.e. respectful and professional) during enrollment and throughout the study. Barriers to participation include language concordance, a lack of information about cancer clinical trials, fear of potential risks, a competing focus between their current cancer treatment and clinical trial activity, and a lack of time. Our final in-depth analyses will present detailed thematic results, interpretation, and practice application. These outcomes may guide efforts to improve racial/ethnic minority therapeutic clinical trials enrollment, retention, and related outreach among Hispanic/Latina patients accessing care at comprehensive cancer centers.

Citation Format: Valesca Largaespada, Samantha Hurst, Savannah M Bradley, Myriam I Acosta, Jonathan Unkart, Sarah Blair, Jesse Nodora. Increasing minority accrual in breast cancer clinical trials through a multidisciplinary approach [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr A045.