Upping Our Game
By Megan McCall
Patients participating in clinical trials are cared for by nurses specially trained in the protocols required for clinical research. In the foreground: multiple myeloma patient James Cook with nurse Sonya Harris. In the background: Joseph Scott, colon cancer patient, with nurse Marva Ollivierre.
Citing problems with participation, costs, exclusion criteria, and trial visibility, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has made clinical trials a key focus area this year and is challenging its network of NCI-designated cancer centers to increase the numbers and diversity of patients who participate in clinical trials.
Winship Cancer Institute is rising to the challenge by launching an aggressive initiative to raise awareness of clinical trials with faculty, staff, referring physicians, and patients. Associate Director of Clinical Research Bassel El-Rayes says the initiative starts with improving the clinical trials infrastructure to support growth.
"This means more space for research and a diverse portfolio of trials that specifically addresses our patient populations," says El-Rayes. "Winship is working to increase the visibility of our clinical research and expand rigid entrance criteria while still making sure that the trials are safe and answer meaningful questions."
For instance, it is common for patients to be denied access to a clinical trial for "organ dysfunction." El-Rayes says that creating trials for patients with organ dysfunction could offer insight into better treatment options. He also emphasizes the need to increase participation of minority patients in order to address their specific concerns. African Americans are disproportionately affected by certain cancers, and constitute a large percentage of the Atlanta population, good reasons to ensure they are well represented in Winship's clinical trials. "We want our research to be safe and more impactful," says El-Rayes.
The Winship campaign is using multiple strategies to engage faculty and staff, including outreach to nurses, advanced practitioners, and other staff throughout Emory Healthcare, giving out buttons, sunglasses, posters, and brochures to help the staff educate patients about clinical trials.
The translational nature of Winship's clinical research goes to the heart of how scientific discoveries in the labs become treatments that can benefit patients, and, according to El-Rayes, the discoveries go both ways. "Learning in the lab creates treatment options that are brought to the clinic, observed in the clinic, and then data is brought back to the lab to inform other treatments," says El-Rayes. "Everyone at Winship plays a role in the 'highway' that connects research and patient care."
