Antonio Lázaro Sánchez, Consultant Medical Oncologist at Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Arrixaca, shared on LinkedIn:
“Spain is the European country with the most cancer clinical trials. Between 2019 and 2024, 1,380 trial sites were registered nationwide, ahead of France (1,271) and Italy (1,022).
But that does not mean that Spanish patients have good access to research.
When adjusted for population, the rate is 2.9 trials per 100,000 inhabitants, trailing
- Belgium (5.8)
- Denmark (5.2)
- the Netherlands (3.5)
Belgium and Denmark have nearly six times the density of Romania (0.9).
This is the argument of the editorial we just published in ESMO Open, based on the report from the ESMO Industry Strategic Forum: counting trials is not the same as measuring access.
And there is something even worse that no report of this kind can detect. The map shows where trials are taking place, not who is participating in them.
- Older adults
- patients with comorbidities
- those living in rural areas
- people with limited resources
- migrants
- ethnic minorities
remain underrepresented. You can live in a country with a great deal of research and never even hear about a clinical trial.
Added to this is an inconvenience we rarely discuss: participating costs the patient money – travel, lodging, additional tests, and companions. There is a financial burden even when the treatment is free.
A country cannot be considered well-served by cancer innovation if its patients have little chance of participating in the studies that define the standard of care.
That is why we propose that access to clinical trials be measured and published annually, along with
- incidence
- mortality
- stage at diagnosis
- healthcare capacity
One more indicator of equity – not just a press release.
And, of course, a special thank you to the entire team for their hard work, dedication, and commitment. It has been a pleasure to share this experience with you all.”
Title: Access to cancer clinical trials in Europe: when trial availability does not match patient need
Authors: A.D. Lázaro Sánchez, J.D. Benitez-Fuentes, L.-A. Teuwen, E. Baloyan, J.L. Alonso Romero, A. Rodriguez-Lescure, D. Lacombe, W.T.A. van der Graaf, B. Gyawali
Read the full article.
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