Abstract 999: Clinical trial matchmaking: Connecting sites to sponsors

Abstract Background: Oncology programs may encounter many challenges engaging in clinical trials. The Association of Community Cancer Center’s (ACCC) Community Oncology Research Institute (ACORI) conducted a survey to gather insights on barriers to clinical trial provision and implementation, patient recruitment, and identifying resources to support cancer programs. Methods: A survey of 29 questions was administered via Qualtrics. The survey focused on research-naïve sites (i.e., sites with little to no clinical research experience). Survey recipients were identified from ACCC’s membership database, and the survey was open from May 5 to October 10, 2023. One survey response was captured per program. Results: Of the 350 respondents, most were physicians, investigators, or oncology fellows (20%), directors/administrators (16%), patient navigators (12%), and APPs (12%). Responding programs were categorized as a comprehensive community cancer program (28%), community practice (26%), or academic medical center (21%). Eighty percent of respondents indicated their program currently conducts clinical research. The most common challenges included: patient recruitment (40%), limited staffing (36%), limited clinician time (32%), and lack of training in research administration and conduct (25%). The top 3 resources desired were communication about clinical research opportunities (65%), connections to clinical trial sponsors (49%), and clinical research coordinator training (41%). Conclusions: Survey results showed a clear need for improved communication regarding clinical research opportunities, connections to clinical trial sponsors, and education around clinical trial implementation. Data from this survey will be used to match sites with trial sponsors, especially sites that serve patients with cancer from under resourced geographic, socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic groups. Future efforts will seek to engage clinical trial sponsors in improving trial engagement and feasibility, workforce support, training, and clinical mentorship. Citation Format: Lyndsey Griffin, Latha Shivakumar, Leigh Boehmer, Savannah Dodson, Elana Plotkin, Sumanta Pal, Al B. Benson. Clinical trial matchmaking: Connecting sites to sponsors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 999.