First-line clinical trials and metastatic colorectal cancer: How selected are clinical trial participants?

Abstract

524 Background: Guidelines recommend that oncology patients have the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial wherever possible. It is purported that as trial participants are often younger and fitter, data extrapolation from trial outcomes to patients seen in routine care may be difficult. We compared characteristics of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) participating in a first-line clinical trial with those treated in routine care. Methods: The TRACC (Treatment of Recurrent and Advanced Colorectal Cancer) database, a clinician-designed mCRC comprehensive database, was used to identify patients treated on a first-line trial compared with those receiving combination ch..