Too many teenage cancer patients are being denied the chance to take part in medical trials because of an inflexible system, it is claimed today.
A change to the system has been urged after a report published today shows that trials with broader age limits led to an increased number of teenagers and young adults going on clinical trials.
Dr Lorna Fern, who co-ordinates research for the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) teenage and young adult clinical studies group, said: “We know that patients often do better on trials due to the specialist care they receive. But right now too many of our young patients are needlessly falling through the gap between paediatric and adult cancer trials.
“By encouraging doctors to take into account the full age range of patients affected by individual types of cancer, we’ve shown that it’s possible to design trials that include teenage cancer patients and, importantly, that better match the underlying biology of the disease and the people affected.”
The NCRI report, which was funded by the Teenage Cancer Trust and is published in Lancet Oncology, found that trials designed with broader age limits resulted in a 13% rise in 15-19 year old cancer patients taking part in clinical trials between 2005 and 2010 (from 24 to 37%).
There was also a 5% increase in 20-24 year olds (from 13 to 18%), while children under 14 taking part in trials rose by 6% to 58%.
This rise was due to the increase in availability and access to trials for young people, increased awareness from healthcare professionals, patients and the public about research and importantly the opening of trials with broader age limits which allow older teenagers and young adults to enter trials.
Cancer Research UK is now one of the first major cancer funders in the UK to ask researchers to justify age restrictions on new studies, in an effort to recruit more teenage cancer patients onto its trials.
Kate Law, Cancer Research UK’s director of clinical trials, said: “Old or young, it’s vital that effective treatments are being developed to tackle cancer across all age brackets.
“We now only accept age limits on our clinical trials if they are backed up by hard evidence, which will hopefully mean more young cancer patients get the chance to contribute to research and have the latest experimental treatments.”
Simon Fuller, director of services for Teenage Cancer Trust comments: “Changes are critical to improving the quality of life and chances of survival for young people with cancer aged 13 to 24. We need everyone involved in the commissioning and regulating of clinical trials to work together across the UK, Europe and internationally to help save young people’s lives.”
Dr Karen Kennedy, director of the NCRI, said: “These findings show that we’re gradually breaking down the barriers to allow more teenage and young adult patients to take part in cancer trials.”
Fern L. et al. Available, accessible, aware, appropriate and acceptable: a strategy to improve participation of teenagers and young adults in cancer trials. Lancet Oncology 30 June 2014
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