The number of patients in cancer trials has fallen by 60% during the pandemic, according to an analysis published today.
The pandemic worsened existing problems with establishing trials, such as red tape, funding and recruitment, according to the Institute of Cancer Research.
The ICR warned that numbers could fall even further during the present “challenging” winter.
The number of patients joining trials was 27,734 in the 12 months to March compared with an average of 67,057 annually previously, it reported.
It reported a separate survey of researchers, involving detailed interviews with 12. It found reports of excessive administrative burdens and an absence of systems for rapid genetic testing for trials of precision medicine.
There is a postcode lottery of access to trials, the researchers add.
The ICR reported a third study of 500 cancer patients, undertaken by pollsters YouGov. It found that just 11% took part in a clinical trial and 37% were offered a conversation about taking part in trials.
Cancer research could benefit from learning from the pandemic how to streamline regulations and set up rapid trials, according to the ICR.
Professor Nick James, professor of prostate and bladder cancer research at The Institute of Cancer Research, said: “Clinical trials are the single best way to turn advances in science into patient benefits. But trial recruitment has plummeted during the pandemic, slowing the pipeline of new treatments and robbing people with cancer access to potentially life-saving medicines.
“We need urgent investment in the COVID-19 recovery of clinical trials, and to get funding to those centres that at the moment are struggling to support clinical research. We also need to learn the lessons from COVID-19. It’s clear that bureaucracy and regulatory barriers for clinical trials often do more harm than good – hindering our progress in developing the next game-changing cancer treatments.”
Institute chief executive Professor Kristian Helin said: “Clinical trials have huge benefits for patients, both by providing access to the latest drugs and technologies, and by demonstrating the effectiveness of the next generation of treatments for use on the NHS. We would like to see a clinical trial being made available for every cancer patient who would like to participate in one.
“That requires both investment in recovery of clinical research post COVID-19, to get us back to where we were before the pandemic, and broader measures to widen access to trials by reshaping funding, regulation, information and treatment pathways.”
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