Accrual and enrolment
How many patients a trial has signed up, and how fast. Slow accrual is the commonest reason trials take years longer than planned or close without an answer; only about 5-8% of adult cancer patients ever join a trial.
Accrual depends on the number of eligible patients (narrow eligibility criteria excluding older patients, brain metastases, poor performance status or prior therapies), site activation speed, competing trials, patient awareness and travel burden, with large inequities by race, geography and income. Remedies include broader eligibility (ASCO/Friends of Cancer Research recommendations), decentralised and hybrid trials, community oncology site networks, AI trial matching, and paying for travel. Rare cancers and paediatric trials often need international consortia and a decade to accrue; 'closed to accrual' means the target number was reached and follow-up continues.
Pages like this
not linked directly; found by shared links- Key paperUnger: most patients never get the chance to join a cancer trial, and when offered, half say yes
Shares Decentralised and hybrid clinical trials, Community oncology and site networks, AI trial matching & clinical decision support.
- TermCentralisation and high-volume centres
- TechnologyClinical trial software (EDC, eCOA, CTMS, RTSM)
Shares Decentralised and hybrid clinical trials, AI trial matching & clinical decision support.
- TechnologyOncology EHR and real-world data platforms
Shares Community oncology and site networks, AI trial matching & clinical decision support.