Real-World Data Collab Aims to Improve Diversity in Cancer Clinical Trials

The National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program (NCI NCORP)-designated Louisiana State University (LSU) Health New Orleans is collaborating with artificial intelligence (AI) and real-world data solutions company ConcertAI to improve diversity in clinical trials and ensure broader access for cancer patients.

The collaboration is part of ongoing work by LSU Health New Orleans and NCI NCORP to establish and improve the clinical trials network in the Gulf South region. According to the press release, NCI awarded LSU Health New Orleans a $5.6 million grant to create the network and another $13.6 million to expand it, with an emphasis on reaching underserved and minority patients. The collaboration also aligns with ConcertAI’s ERACE (Engaging Research to Achieve Cancer Care Equality) program.

"The collaboration will identify current cancer care disparities in Louisiana and how they can be addressed," said Augusto Ochoa, MD, an LSU Health New Orleans NCORP principal investigator, in the press release. "Insights gleaned from the novel real-world data advanced by the partnership will lead to evidence-based strategies to reduce health inequities among populations with existing disparities, including the implementation of AI-based capabilities to improve patient screening, engagement and recruitment at clinical trial sites throughout the region."

The partnership is set to leverage LSU’s clinical trial sites and ConcertAI’s cancer care setting data to assess the impact of the Gulf South Minority Underserved NCORP program on clinical trial enrollment, retention, and outcomes in underserved populations. These efforts will also be supported by LSU Health New Orleans' Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR), one of the 21 NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program cancer registries that collects population-based data in Louisiana.

"We are thrilled to work with ConcertAI in furthering our efforts to improve quality and expanding access for the people we serve throughout the state," said John H. Stewart, MD, director of the LSU Health New Orleans-LCMC Cancer Center, in the press release. "This collaboration will set the stage for us to more fully define factors that identify risks and prognosis and patient characteristics that will enhance clinical trial enrollment."

"We are eager to participate in this partnership and continuing [sic] to reduce the state's cancer burden and disparities and improve the survival and quality of life for all cancer patients," added Xiaocheng Wu, MD, director of the LTR at LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health, according to the press release.

Concerns about access and equity in cancer clinical trials have grown, especially as conversations about the use of real-world data become more common.

In a June interview with HealthITAnalytics, Gabrielle Rocque, MD, a breast medical oncologist and health services researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said that real-world data can help cancer researchers unlock key insights, including those related to underrepresentation in clinical trials, that have the potential to significantly improve the quality of care delivery in precision medicine.

Recent data also have shown that underrepresentation in cancer clinical trials is a major roadblock for researchers and providers and that the COVID-19 pandemic caused additional strain. Research from June to April 2020 found that over a 12-week period, cancer clinical trial enrollment decreased dramatically while coronavirus infection rates soared.

Other studies have determined that some populations are significantly underrepresented in cancer clinical trials despite efforts to increase participation, such as decentralization and NCI-provider partnerships. This lack of diversity often contributes to health disparities and patient safety risks.