An ASCO leadership development project to understand barriers to clinical cancer research in the Asia-Pacific.

Authors

Rashid Lui

Rashid N Lui

Department of Clinical Oncology, and Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Hong Kong SAR, China

Rashid N Lui , Jimmy A Billod , Sophia Frentzas , Hang Thu Hoang , Vanessa J. Eaton , Jennifer Lei , Elizabeth Garrett-Mayer , David Goldstein , Rebecca Alexandra Dent , Melvin Lee Kiang Chua

Organizations

Department of Clinical Oncology, and Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Hong Kong SAR, China, Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, Baguio City, Philippines, Monash Health and Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, National Cancer Hospital Vietnam, Hanoi, Viet Nam, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA, Department of Medical Oncology, Sydney, NSW, Australia, Division of Medical Oncology, Singapore, Singapore, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

Research Funding

No funding received
None.

Background: There are huge challenges in conducting clinical research, with gross disparities in trial access for patients in the Asia-Pacific (APAC). ASCO initiated a leadership development program in 2021, and one of the projects involved understanding the barriers to conducting clinical research and trials regionally. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey on barriers to clinical research using a 29-item questionnaire which covered potential barriers to establishing clinical groups to support trials, and respondents’ demographic and other information. We targeted oncology healthcare professionals (HCPs) from APAC via national societies, locoregional hospitals, and via social media channels. Data were collected through the SurveyMonkey platform. Countries were classified into high-income (HICs), upper-middle (UMICs), and lower-middle income countries (LMICs) according to the World Bank criterion. We hypothesized substantial differences in the responses of HCPs by income (HICs vs UMICs vs LMICs) due to political, cultural, ethical, and socioeconomic factors and evaluated the univariate association of each potential barrier using Chi-square test. Multivariable logistic regression models evaluated the association between the top five significant potential barriers and country grouping, adjusting for age, gender, specialty and affiliation. Results: Three-hundred responses were received from May to July 2022, representing 21 APAC countries and regions in total. Among these, 102 (34%), 57 (19%), and 137 (46%) HCPs practiced in HICs, UMICs, and LMICs, respectively, with 51% of respondents being female. Most HCPs practiced in medical oncology (35%), radiation oncology (29%), and surgical oncology (13%). Just under 70% of respondents had <= 10 years of training. Overall, the top five reported barriers included competing demands (reported by 88% of respondents), lack of financial support (86%), healthcare access issues for patients (75%), lack of research environment and infrastructure (72%), and lack of expertise of staff (68%). Adjusting for other factors, among these barriers lack of financial support, research environment and infrastructure, expertise, and healthcare access differed significantly between HICs and LMICs with respondents from LMICs more often reporting these barriers than those from HICs (p<=0.02 for all). Conclusions: This is the largest survey exploring the research and trial landscape in APAC that revealed common and specific challenges affecting different countries, thus emphasizing the importance of targeted measures when addressing these barriers. These findings will inform future potential action plans by ASCO and the APAC Regional Council such as skills training, embedding clinical research within practice and facilitating cross border interaction; to empower research in the region.

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2023 ASCO Breakthrough

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Poster Session B

Track

Gastrointestinal Cancer,Gynecologic Cancer,Head and Neck Cancer,Quality of Care,Genetics/Genomics/Multiomics,Healthcare Equity and Access to Care,Healthtech Innovations,Models of Care and Care Delivery,Population Health,Viral-Mediated Malignancies

Sub Track

Real-World Evidence/Real-World Data

Citation

JCO Global Oncology 9, 2023 (suppl 1; abstr 96)

DOI

10.1200/GO.2023.9.Supplement_1.96

Abstract #

96

Poster Bd #

A10

Abstract Disclosures