Brief Report: Implementation of a Universal Prescreening Protocol to Increase Recruitment to Lung Cancer Studies at a Veterans Affairs Cancer Center

• Published in: JTO clinical and research reports 2022-07, Vol.3 (7), p.100357-100357, Article 100357
• Main Authors: Xiang, Jenny J., Roy, Alicia, Summers, Christine, Delvy, Monica, O’Donovan, Jessica, Christensen, John, Dwy, Christopher, Perry, Lydia, Connery, Donna, Rose, Michal G., Sheehan, Kelsey, Chao, Herta H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accrual; Brief Report; Clinical Trial; Lung Cancer; Recruitment
• ISSN: 2666-3643; 2666-3643
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jtocrr.2022.100357

The oncology clinical trial recruitment process is time, labor, and resource intensive, and poor accrual rates are common. We describe the VA Connecticut Cancer Center experience of implementing a standardized, universal prescreening protocol and its impact on thoracic oncology research recruitment. Research coordinators prescreened potentially eligible patients with confirmed or suspected cancer from multiple clinical sources and entered relevant patient and research study information into a centralized electronic database. The database provided real-time lists of potential studies for each patient. This enabled the research team to alert patients’ oncologists in advance of clinic visits and to prepare documents needed for enrollment. Clinicians could ensure sufficient time and attention in clinic to the informed consent process, therefore maximizing enrollment opportunities. Patients were also monitored on waitlists for future studies. From March 2017 to December 2020, 1518 patients with lung nodules and suspected and/or confirmed lung cancers were prescreened. Of these, 379 patients enrolled to a study, 103 patients declined participation, and 639 were monitored for future studies. Our prescreening protocol identified all new lung cancer patients that were ultimately added to the cancer registry. We demonstrated a significant increase in study enrollment after prescreening implementation. Universal prescreening was associated with improved patient enrollment to thoracic oncology studies. The protocol was integral in our VA becoming the top accruing VA site for NCI’s National Clinical Trial Network studies for 2019-2021.