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Recruitment of Patients Into an Internet-Based Clinical Trials Database: The Experience of OncoLink and the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance

From the Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pennsylvania; Division of Gastroenterology/Department of Medicine, Department of Genetics, Abramson Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; and Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Ireland Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Address reprint requests to S. Jack Wei, MD, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Radiation Oncology, 2 Donner Bldg, 3400 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA 19104; e-mail: wei{at}xrt.upenn.edu

PURPOSE: In March 2001, the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (NCCRA) and OncoLink (http://www.oncolink.org) established a database to facilitate patient enrollment onto clinical trials. This study describes the population registering with the database and identifies discrepancies between individuals registering through the Internet and those registering through a telephone call center.

METHODS: Participants registered with the NCCRA/OncoLink database through the Internet or a telephone call center. All participants entering the database completed a questionnaire regarding basic demographics, colon cancer risk factors, and indicated how they became aware of the database. Comparisons were made between individuals registering through the Internet and those registering through the telephone call center.

RESULTS: A total of 2,162 participants registered during the first 16 months of the database. Most patients registered through the Internet rather than the telephone call center (88% v 12%; P < .001). More females than males registered (73% v 27%; P < .001). The majority (89%) were white. Participants registering through the Internet were younger than those registering through the call center (mean, 48.8 v 55.0 years; P < .001). There was no difference between the two groups with regard to sex or ethnicity.

CONCLUSION: The Internet has the potential to increase the likelihood that interested individuals find appropriate clinical trials. Some of the discrepancies that are known to exist for access to the Internet were also seen for those registering with the database through the Internet. Despite these differences, the potential to increase clinical trial enrollment with this type of Internet-based database is high.

Supported by OncoLink and the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance. Funded in part by the NCCRA and Entertainment Industry Foundation, and the Hanson Foundation.

Authors' disclosures of potential conflicts of interest are found at the end of this article.

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