Cancer Clinical Trial Participation at the 1-Year Anniversary of the Outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Key Points Question Did enrollment to cancer clinical trials in a federally funded cooperative group change during the first full year of the COVID-19 pandemic? Findings By use of an interrupted time-series analysis of 29\u2009398 clinical trial patients, this cohort study found a precipitous decrease in enrollments during the initial COVID-19 wave, but only a modest reduction during the winter 2020 to 2021 wave. Over the entire year, steep enrollment reductions were found for cancer control and prevention trials, whereas for treatment trials, enrollments were similar to expected rates. Meaning These findings suggest that clinical trial research rapidly adapted to the circumstances of enrolling and treating patients on protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.