“If this trend of low enrollment continues, we will face a crisis in cancer research and discovery. Further education is the key to participation and progress,” he said in a center news release.
Currently, more than 900 cancer clinical trials are underway at Memorial Sloan Kettering, the researchers said.
The survey included more than 1,500 adults. They were between the ages of 18 and 69 years old. The surveys revealed a number of concerns about clinical trials. More than half of those surveyed were worried about side effects and safety.
Half were concerned about insurance coverage and out-of-pocket costs. And nearly half were concerned about the inconvenience of trial locations, or receiving a placebo instead of an active treatment drug.
Additionally, about another one-third of those surveyed expressed skepticism about unproven treatments. A similar number said a clinical trial would make them feel like a guinea pig.