Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar 30;29(4):2435-2441.
doi: 10.3390/curroncol29040197.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Academic Cancer Clinical Trials in Canada and the Initial Response from Cancer Centers

Stephen Sundquist  1 , Diana Kato  1 , Rebecca Y Xu  1 , James Schoales  1 , Saranya Kulendran  1 , Janet E Dancey  1   2
Affiliations

The Impact of COVID-19 on Academic Cancer Clinical Trials in Canada and the Initial Response from Cancer Centers

Stephen Sundquist et al. Curr Oncol. .

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in temporary holds placed on new trial startups, patient recruitment and follow up visits for trials which contributed to major disruptions in cancer center trial unit operations. To assess the impact, the Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials Network (3CTN) members participated in regional meetings and a survey to understand the impact of the pandemic to academic cancer clinical trials (ACCT) activity, cancer trial unit operations and supports needed for post-pandemic recovery. Trial performance and recruitment data collected from 1 April 2020-31 March 2021 was compared to the same period in previous years. From 1 April-30 June 2020, patient recruitment decreased by 67.5% and trial site activations decreased by 81% compared to the same period in 2019. Recovery to reopening and recruitment of ACCTs began after three months, which was faster than initially projected. However, ongoing COVID-19 impacts on trial unit staffing and operations continue to contribute to delayed trial activations, lower patient recruitment and may further strain centers' capacity for participation in academic-sponsored trials.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic impact; Canadian cancer clinical trials; academic cancer trials; trial site activations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure A1
Figure A1
Recruitment to 3CTN Portfolio trials at adult cancer centers by province 1 April 2018–31 March 2021.
Figure A2
Figure A2
3CTN Portfolio trial site activations at adult cancer centers by province from 1 April 2018–31 March 2021.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Recruitment to 3CTN Portfolio trials at adult cancer centers (n = 41) from April 2018–March 2021.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trial site activations at adult Network centers (n = 41) from 1 April 2018–31 March 2021.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Xu R.Y., Kato D., Pond G.R., Sundquist S., Schoales J., Lalani S., Dancey J.E. Advancing Academic Cancer Clinical Trials Recruitment in Canada. Curr. Oncol. 2021;28:2830–2839. doi: 10.3390/curroncol28040248. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Annual Report 2019–2020. Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials Network; Toronto, ON, Canada: 2020.
    1. Gill S., Hao D., Hirte H., Campbell A., Colwell B. Impact of COVID-19 on Canadian medical oncologists and cancer care: Canadian Association of Medical Oncologists survey report. Curr. Oncol. 2020;27:71–74. doi: 10.3747/co.27.6643. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Waterhouse D.M., Harvey R.D., Hurley P., Levit L.A., Kim E.S., Klepin H.D., Mileham K.F., Nowakowski G., Schenkel C., Davis C., et al. Early Impact of COVID-19 on the Conduct of Oncology Clinical Trials and Long-Term Opportunities for Transformation: Findings From an American Society of Clinical Oncology Survey. JCO Oncol. Pract. 2020;16:417–421. doi: 10.1200/OP.20.00275. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Upadhaya S., Yu J.X., Oliva C., Hooton M., Hodge J., Hubbard-Lucey V.M. Impact of COVID-19 on oncology clinical trials. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 2020;19:376–377. doi: 10.1038/d41573-020-00093-1. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types