Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cancer Clinical Trials

The COVID-19 pandemic has had widespread impact on healthcare, resulting in modifications to how we perform cancer research, including clinical trials for cancer. The impact of some healthcare workers and study coordinators working remotely and patients minimizing visits to medical facilities impacted clinical trial participation. Clinical trial accrual dropped at the onset of the pandemic, with improvement over time. Adjustments were made to some trial protocols, allowing telephone or video-enabled consent. Certain study activities were permitted to be performed by local healthcare providers or at local laboratories to maximize patients' ability to continue on study during these challenging times. We discuss the impact of COVID-19 on cancer clinical trials and changes at the local, cooperative group, and national level.

Automated summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted cancer clinical trials, with changes such as healthcare workers and study coordinators working remotely, patients minimizing visits to medical facilities, and a drop in trial accrual at the onset of the pandemic. Adjustments were made to trial protocols to allow telephone or video-enabled consent, and some study activities were shifted to local healthcare providers or laboratories to facilitate patient participation during these challenging times.