Using a population-based cancer registry for recruitment of newly diagnosed patients with ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: Although rarely used for clinical trial recruitment in the United States, population-based registries are a potential resource for identification of patients with cancer for some kinds of research trials. They record fairly detailed information on a cancer patient's condition at the time of diagnosis (stage, histologic types, and other clinical and demographic variables) and record all patients in a geographic area. This information can be used to identify patients eligible for intervention trials.
METHODS: Using a cancer registry to identify newly diagnosed patients and their physicians, this study recruited 60 women for a feasibility trial of a psychosocial intervention designed to improve the quality of life for women with ovarian cancer. Active consent from physicians was obtained before contacting patients.
RESULTS: Of 441 women identified as potentially eligible from the cancer registry, 364 (82%) were screened for eligibility and 179 (41%) were eventually determined to be eligible. Of the identified eligible women, 60 (34%) were recruited and enrolled in the trial.
CONCLUSIONS: This rate of recruitment is within the range of recruitment rates reported in past studies examining efforts to enroll patients in clinical trials at single institutions. These findings suggest that registry-based recruitment efforts may be useful for expanding recruitment to the larger community.