Clinical trial NCT05871125: Identifying Ideal Reimbursement "Dose" to Reduce Clinical Trial-related Financial Toxicity
Official title: Identifying Ideal Reimbursement "Dose" to Reduce Clinical Trial-related Financial Toxicity
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION
Phase: NA
Conditions: Breast Cancer
Lead sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2023-05-23
Enrollment: 30
Sex: FEMALE
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: The goal of this clinical trial is to identify the recommended financial reimbursement amount for women with breast cancer enrolled in a clinical trial. The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. What is the recommended financial reimbursement amount in trial-enrolled women with breast cancer experiencing financial toxicity?
2. What do patients think about receiving a reimbursement for trial-incurred expenses?

Participants will receive a monthly reimbursement to compensate for their trial-incurred expenses in cohorts, which will de-escalate for the next participant cohort if patients find the reimbursement dose suitable (negative financial toxicity screen, reimbursement dose deemed acceptable/appropriate). Researchers will also use qualitative interviews to explore patient perceptions of the trial reimbursements.

Detailed description: Our overall objective is to innovatively use a dose-finding approach to identify the recommended reimbursement amount for women with breast cancer enrolled in a clinical trial. We hypothesize that optimal reimbursement for trial-related expenses will decrease patient financial toxicity and increase trial retention. The rationale is that understanding the impact of reimbursement for trial-related costs will aid in addressing socioeconomic barriers to trial participation, thus allowing for more diversity in trial enrollment and ensuring equitable efficacy of cancer treatments when used in real-world clinical settings.

Aim 1. Identify the recommended reimbursement amount in trial-enrolled women with breast cancer experiencing financial toxicity. We propose a pilot reimbursement dose de-escalation trial (continual reassessment method design; N=30) testing a monthly reimbursement for trial-enrolled patients who screen positive for financial toxicity. We will oversample patients who are Black (50%) or residing in rural locations (50%). Monthly patient-reported financial toxicity and reimbursement acceptability and appropriateness will be captured. Reimbursement dose will start at $1000 and de-escalate if patients find the reimbursement dose suitable (negative financial toxicity screen, reimbursement dose deemed acceptable/appropriate).

Aim 2. Explore patient perceptions of trial reimbursement amounts. Using semi-structured interviews, we will explore the effects of reimbursement on specific covered and uncovered trial-related costs, financial toxicity, and current retention and future participation in clinical trials.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Participants will be women with breast cancer currently enrolled in the Investigation of Serial studies to Predict Your Therapeutic Response with Imaging and Molecular AnaLysis (I-SPY TRIAL 2) at the UAB Medical Oncology Clinic.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Non-English speakers
* Males
* Females without cancer
* Female cancer patients not enrolled in the I-SPY TRIAL 2

Primary outcomes:
measure: Number of patients who receive all reimbursements and who complete follow-up surveys (overall feasibility of intervention)
timeFrame: 2 years
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Birmingham
country: United States
facility: University of Alabama at Birmingham
state: Alabama
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham
name: Courtney Williams, DrPH
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: