The O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB is partnering with the GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer in a study – together with Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Augusta University – to improve participation from Black communities in lung cancer clinical trials.

Studying Trial Determinants of Success is funded by grants awarded to GO2 Foundation from Genentech and Bristol Myers Squibb. The study aims to help investigators better understand barriers to clinical trial participation among African American patients in Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. Researchers will develop programs to increase clinical trial participation among Black patients.

Monica Baskin. (contributed)

While participation in clinical trials by all cancer patients in the United States is extremely low, at about 8%, that rate is even lower among racial and ethnic minority groups. Blacks make up about 6% of participants in clinical trials.

“Diverse representation in clinical trials is essential to find treatments that are effective for all populations, including people from various racial, ethnic and geographic backgrounds,” said Monica Baskin, professor in the UAB Division of Preventive Medicine and associate director for the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement. “Good representation in trials also allows researchers to better understand patterns of difference in health and sickness based on backgrounds and behaviors that may provide more effective treatment and/or prevention.”

The rate of lung cancer in Black men is about 30% higher than in white men. Black men and women are more likely to develop and die from lung cancer than any other racial group.

“Increasing the rate of minority participation in cancer clinical trials is a pressing need and requires a multipronged approach to accomplish this task,” said Soumya Niranjan, assistant professor in the UAB Department of Health Services Administration and co-investigator. “Through this project, we seek to better understand specific barriers and facilitators to minority participation in lung cancer clinical trials from both patients and provider stakeholders, followed by potential multilevel interventions.”

Soumya Niranjan. (contributed)

The project will survey and interview a range of people who play a role in the clinical trial process, from patients to research staff and doctors, to find out what contributes to decreased clinical trial participation among Black patients in these areas. The second part of the project will use those lessons learned to select and pilot different evidence-based initiatives to increase the participation of Black patients in clinical trials.

“We are thrilled that the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB is partnering with us,” said Laurie Fenton Ambrose, co-founder, president and CEO of GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer. “They will bring their deep understanding of lung cancer research and knowledge of access issues in communities of color to this work so we can better understand and address barriers to clinical trial participation among the Black community.”

The O’Neal Cancer Center will receive $350,000 to support its work on the project. The grant from Genentech comes from its Health Equity Innovation Fund, which aims to reduce disparities in health care access, quality and outcomes. Nearly 380 institutions and organizations applied for funding support.