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. 2021 Nov;28(12):7311-7316.
doi: 10.1245/s10434-021-10406-2. Epub 2021 Jul 8.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cancer Clinical Trials

Judy C Boughey  1 , Rebecca A Snyder  2 , Olga Kantor  3 , Linda Zheng  4 , Akhil Chawla  5 , Toan T Nguyen  6 , Shauna L Hillman  7 , Olwen M Hahn  8 , Sumithra J Mandrekar  7 , Christina L Roland  9
Affiliations

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cancer Clinical Trials

Judy C Boughey et al. Ann Surg Oncol. 2021 Nov.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had widespread impact on healthcare, resulting in modifications to how we perform cancer research, including clinical trials for cancer. The impact of some healthcare workers and study coordinators working remotely and patients minimizing visits to medical facilities impacted clinical trial participation. Clinical trial accrual dropped at the onset of the pandemic, with improvement over time. Adjustments were made to some trial protocols, allowing telephone or video-enabled consent. Certain study activities were permitted to be performed by local healthcare providers or at local laboratories to maximize patients' ability to continue on study during these challenging times. We discuss the impact of COVID-19 on cancer clinical trials and changes at the local, cooperative group, and national level.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Weekly enrollment to Alliance trials from 1 February 2020 to 28 February 2021
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