Fred Hutchinson Cancer CenterSep 27 2024 Published in The Journal of Clinical Oncology and presented at the ASCO Quality Care Symposium, these findings reveal trends of underinvestment in federally funded studies, flat enrollment counts in federally funded studies over more than a decade and a growing reliance on industry to conduct cancer research.
The magnitude of difference revealed by the study, which was the first to comprehensively evaluate the comparative roles of industry and federal sponsors in supporting patient enrollments to cancer studies, took the researchers by surprise. Joseph Unger, PhD, MS, a health services researcher and biostatistician at Fred Hutch and lead author of the study
"Underinvestment in federally funded cancer clinical research results in missed opportunities for scientific, clinical and populations advances," said Unger. "Federally funded cancer clinical trials have contributed to more than 14 million life years gained over four decades and have helped improve clinical care guidelines for patients."