Individual Abstract within a Delegate Designed Symposium Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2022

Achieving equitable access to cancer care and clinical trials in regional Australia: a networked approach to expand capacity and implement COSA teletrials model (#93)

Craig Underhill 1 2 3 4 , Donna Long 1 , Ian Collins 5 , Stephen Brown 6 , Samuel Harris 7 , Javier Torres 8 , David Campbell 9 , Kurt Lankovic 10 , Michelle Shaw 1 , Wasek Faisal 6 , Tricia Wright 11 , Krishna Rachakonda 12
  1. Border Medical Oncology, Border Medical Oncology Research Unit, Albury, NSW, Australia
  2. Latrobe University, Wodonga, Vic, Australia
  3. Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Parkville, Vic, Australia
  4. UNSW School of Clinical Medicine, Rural Clinical Campus, Albury, NSW, Australia
  5. Southwest Healthcare , Warrnambool, Vic, Australia
  6. Grampians Health, Ballarat, Vic, Australia
  7. Bendigo Health, Bendigo, Vic, Australia
  8. Goulburn Valley Health, Shepparton, Vic, Australia
  9. Andrew Love Cancer Centre, University Hospital , Geelong, VIC, Australia
  10. Cancer Trials Australia, Parkville, Vic, Australia
  11. Latrobe Regional Hopsital, Traralgon, Vic, Australia
  12. Mildura Base Public Hospital, Mildura, Vic, Australia

Aim

People with cancer living in regional Victoria are less likely to participate in a clinical trial than metropolitan patients. We established a new geographically based trials network with the gaol of increasing the number of regional cancer patients recruited to clinical trials.

Methods

Initially six regional services and Cancer Trials Australia (CTA) collaborated to form Regional Trials Network Victoria (RTNV). Two more sites, Latrobe Regional Hospital and Mildura Public Hospital were added in 2021. This network represents a population of 1.9 million people and approximately 8,000 new cancer diagnoses each year.

Access to cancer clinical trials at regional sites was achieved by:

  • building capacity of regional clinical trial units
  • improving the efficiency of clinical trial conduct
  • Implementing the COSA teletrial framework
  • investing in the capability of staff
  • Increasing the number of clinical trials

Results

In 2017, the CCV Clinical Trial Management Scheme (CTMS) recorded 1587 Victorians recruited to cancer clinical intervention trials. 428 resided in regional Victoria, but only 81 of these participated at a regional site, with others needing to travel.

In 2017, 135 patients were recruited to RTN sites (regional plus Geelong) across 55 trials.

By 2021, despite the impacts of the COVID19 pandemic the number of recruiting clinical trials increased by 54 % and the number of regional patients recruited to CTMS studies in the network increased to 179. Driven by uptake of teletrials and registry trials total recruitment increased to 620 patients.

RTNV leveraged funding to sustain core activity and was awarded $18.5 million from the Medical Research Future Fund to conduct health services research over the next 5 years.

Conclusion

The RTNV is a successful implementation of a regionally based clinical trials network, improving access and participation of regional patients. Much of the increase was driven by the use of COSA Teletrials methodology.