Early-Phase Clinical Trials In The Community: Results From the National Cancer Institute Community Cancer Centers Program Early-Phase Working Group Baseline Assessment

Purpose: The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP) formed an Early-Phase Working Group to facilitate site participation in early-phase (EP) trials. The Working Group conducted a baseline assessment (BA) to describe the sites’ EP trial infrastructure and its association with accrual. Methods: EP accrual and infrastructure data for the sites were obtained for July 2010-June 2011 and 2010, respectively. Sites with EP accrual rates at or above the median were considered high-accruing sites. Analyses were performed to identify site characteristics associated with higher accrual onto EP trials. Results: Twenty-seven of the 30 NCCCP sites participated. The median number of EP trials open per site over the course of