Dr. Jain on the Need to Enroll Heterogenous Populations to Clinical Trials in CRC

Shikha Jain, MD, FACP, assistant professor of medicine, director of communication strategies in medicine, University of Illinois (UI) College of Medicine, associate director of oncology communication and digital innovation, UI Cancer Center, medical oncologist, Department of Hematology and Oncology, UI Health, discusses the need to enroll heterogenous patient populations to clinical trials in colorectal cancer (CRC).

Significant disparities in the patient populations being enrolled on clinical trials in CRC have been observed, Jain says. Patient education for what clinical trials entail, as well as a lack of trust in the health care system among underserved communities may account for some of this disparity.

As such, it is important to ensure clinical trials are enrolling heterogenous and diverse patient populations so that the results of the studies can be widely applicable to all patients with CRC, Jain explains. Moreover, as a rising incidence of CRC has been observed among younger African American populations, all patients irrespective of their background or history should be considered for clinical trials. It’s also critical to answer all questions a patient has before enrolling onto a clinical trial so they are armed with the information as to why a clinical trial may be the best treatment option for them, Jain concludes.