Abstract P6-14-03: Metastatic breast cancer alliance's patient education and access to trials: Perceptions and actions
Authors: DJ Vollmer Dahlke, ML Smith, G Han, MG Ory, E Cohen
Journal: Cancer Research (2019)

Abstract Background Those living with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) have distinct and shifting concerns in regard to education and decision making in considering clinical trials as a treatment option. Clinical trials designs, are becoming increasingly complex, and many patients have concerns for biomarker requirements Aims/Research Questions · What is the status of MBCA advocacy members' and partners' digital information, education and access to metastatic breast cancer trials? · What plans do MBCA members/partners have for the next 6-18 months to educate and inform their constituents for the 2018 rollout of BreastCancerTrials.org's (BCT)Metastatic Trial Search (MTS) and Metastatic Trial Talk (MTT) and other trial matching systems? · What are the top 5 barriers regarding trial enrollment? · What are best practices for MBC trial education? Research Methodology and Design A comprehensive analysis was conducted comprising both secondary and primary research to inform these specific aims. Secondary research was conducted using previous capture of MBCA online digital resources and strengthened to include additional research on MBCA members and partners online resources including pages specifically devoted to clinical trials and metastatic clinical trials. Mixed methods approaches include: 1) An assessment of MBCA members' and partners' digital media presence regarding MBC trials using a standardized form and rating system, and an analysis of MBCA members 2017 use of MTS using BCT secondary data; 2) Structured, recorded interviews with selected MBCA members/ partners, sharing the results of the assessments and querying them regarding their future plans and perceived barriers; and 3) Mixed methods analyses of the interview recordings using DeDoose to assess and articulate key trends and perceptions. Statistical Methods Simple frequency percentages and means were used in the assessment rankings of the MBCA members. DeDoose was used to provide mixed method analyses of the MBCA member and partner interviews. Results Analysis of the MBCA members and partners websites and digital media showed that, increasingly, both groups use the full variety of digital media to educate their constituents regarding MBC clinical trials. The 13 MBCA advocacy members providing online access to BreastCancerTrials' MTS in 2017 provided 97% of the traffic to the MTS trial matching service. System types accessing the MTS widget were 57.3% desktops, 28.6% mobile devices and 14% tablets. Table 1 shows assessment totals of 5 categories of the 13 MBCA advocacy group members' websites using MTS as compared to the 19 MBCA members not using the widget. Table 2 shows the 2017 usage of BCT's MTS with 97% of the page views coming from MBCA members. Table 1.Assessment Ratings of MBCA Advocacy Partners on Metastatic Trial Education/AccessAwareness of Trials (e.g. explains trial Phases)Knowledge SharingInterest in Metastatic Breast CancerAction Potential for clinical trial access or enrollmentTotal (0-100)13 MBCA Advocate Members with MTS widget22.1523.0024.3124.1593.6219 MBCA Members without MTS widget13.2113.9513.5311.9552.16 Table 2.2017 Use Of Metastatic Trial SearchBCT's Metastatic Trial Search (MTS) Results2017Annual Page views33,360Unique Sessions14,295Show Trials8,100Show Trials by month675Average Time on Site (minutes)3:34Total Engagement Events5,006 Citation Format: Vollmer Dahlke DJ, Smith ML, Han G, Ory MG, Cohen E. Metastatic breast cancer alliance's patient education and access to trials: Perceptions and actions [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-14-03.