BCT.org: Feasibility of a Clinical Trial Matching Tool
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Clinical trials enable new breast cancer therapies to be tested under controlled conditions before they are made widely available to patients. However, only 3% of cancer patients participate in clinical trials creating a major obstacle to their timely completion. Further compounding this problem is the increased demand for study subjects as more drugs continue to flow from the laboratory to the clinical setting. As a means of facilitating clinical trial enrollment, we have developed BreastCancerTrials.org (BCT.org), an Internet-based tool for matching breast cancer patients to clinical trials. The heart of BCT.org is the “online registry,” a vehicle for comparing patient self-reported medical histories with clinical trial eligibility requirements. BCT.org has been carefully designed to ensure data security and patient privacy. When a match occurs, patients must initiate contact with clinical investigators; no medical records are released without patient consent.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Our long-term hypothesis is that BCT.org can shorten the duration of clinical trials and promote participation among underserved women including seniors, racial and ethnic minorities, rural residents, and lower income families. For this pilot project we intend to study BCT.org in several key areas:
 
 
 
 -Accuracy: Patients can accurately self-report their medical histories.
 
 -Acceptance: Patients/Investigators will register with BCT.org to connect to a trial or patient.
 
 -Usability: Patients/Investigators can complete enrollment, assisted by a well-designed user interface and accessible technical support.
 
 -Outreach: BCT.org can partner with community organizations to recruit underserved women.
 
 
 
 This pilot will allow us to fine-tune BCT.org by sequentially testing and revising its utility for clinical trial matching. For accuracy we will compare the self-reported medical histories of 30 Stage IV patients to their medical charts. A calculated accuracy score will serve as the basis for future improvement. For acceptance and usability we will initially evaluate these measures among “intended users” in a test setting prior to public release. In total, 32 patients and 10 investigators will share information in focus groups about data security, privacy protection, site navigation, content, and general usability. Additional testing will be done after BCT.org is released over the Internet using online focus groups, system statistics and phone interviews. For the outreach aspect of the study we will develop community partnerships to help us adapt BCT.org for underserved women.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Innovative elements of the project in non-technical terms:
 
 
 
 Although there are other websites to help patients find clinical trials, BCT.org has several innovative features. Accuracy: With its focus on one disease, BCT.org uses screening criteria that are unique to breast cancer and which can be easily updated to keep pace with new treatments. Accessibility: BCT.org is available to patients who do not have access to computers; they can use surrogate contacts or register on print forms by mail. Usability: Developed by a team of patients and investigators, BCT.org addresses both sets of users with regard to data security, privacy, and ease-of-use. Outreach: BCT.org is both a nonprofit service and a research program. It serves a practical need and at the same time provides a tool for studying patterns of clinical trial enrollment and outreach.