Decentralized oncology trials have become quite popular over time. The oncology trial design is created so you don’t have to be at one specific location to participate in the Veristat trials study. The trial can be carried out entirely remotely or can follow a hybrid model where there is remote data collection from research sites. Since most people now prefer decentralized clinical trials, the here is whether the trials work for you or they are just a waste of time. Research has shown that decentralized clinical trials work and benefit the sponsors, patients, and investigators. Here are a few ways in which the use of decentralized clinical trials can help oncology clinical trials.
They Are Patient Friendly
Traditional oncology clinical trial design required patients to keep visiting the research center when they need the investigators to collect data. Some may require traveling for long distances or taking off from work to visit the center. However, decentralized clinical trials allow participants to continue with the trial while focusing on other aspects of life and so they won’t have to visit the research center. This aspect makes them patient-friendly, hence more patients are not likely to drop out of the trial before it ends.
Increased Diversity in Participants
Decentralized clinical trials make it easier for participants to join. This increases the trial’s diversity to ensure that the treatment in question is effective to a wide variety of patients. In some cases, it will lead to the inclusion of underrepresented patients and help reach patients who have been ignored. Studies have shown that the lack of diversity in oncology trials is majorly due to the accessibility of the trials to some people. You will find that most academic research centers are located in the middle of large cities. This means that patients who live far from the research centers will not know about the trials. The patients living close to the research may not be very diverse to the capacity of the trial.
Decentralized Trials Generate a Large Amount of Data from Different Environments
Here investigators use technology in the clinical trials to collect most of the data. This means that they can collect data from patients when they are at work, at home, or participating in other activities. Some investigators give their participants wearables that can be tracked via apps. This ensures that they can collect data away from their research centers. They easily reactive data at any time and can tell how the treatment is affecting the patients at different conditions. Remote tracking of the patients also avoids the loss of crucial information and inaccurate reporting of data.
It Supports Industry Collaborations and Connections
All clinical trials aim to come up with better treatments for any disease. With decentralized trials, it will be easier for the industry players to share information, avoid duplicating information and help decrease trial timelines.
Decentralized oncology trials should not be a threat to sponsors and research sites. Instead, they should use them to complement the existing systems and use them to include participants from diverse backgrounds to increase the success rate of the trials.
