Volume 46, December 2023, 100946Author links open overlay panel, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Highlights•

Assessment of clinical trial activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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No differences between the organ specific subunits and study characteristics.

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Data showed that clinical trial activities were maintained during the pandemic.

AbstractBackground and purpose

To analyze clinical trial activities and patient recruitment numbers into prospective clinical studies for solid malignancies during the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary cancer center.

Materials and methods

Patient recruitment numbers in prospective clinical studies of solid malignancies were retrospectively analyzed for the years 2019 – 2021 at the Comprehensive Cancer Center Zurich (CCCZ). Changes in recruitment numbers were tested for association with organ-specific subunits, as well as organizational and treatment-related trial characteristics. To assess differences between categorical variables, Chi-squared test was used. For uni- and multivariate analysis, Cox proportional hazards were calculated.

Results

In 2019, there were a total of 107 studies (registry trials, clinical phase I-III trials, and translational studies) recruiting 304 patients at the CCCZ. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, there were 120 and 125 active trials with a total recruitment of 355 and 666 patients, respectively. No significant differences between the subunits and study characteristics in changes of patient recruitment in clinical phase I-III trials were identified when the year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (2019) was compared to the first year of the pandemic (2020) and to 2020-2021.

Conclusions

Despite healthcare systems around the world have experienced significant disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, data from our tertiary cancer center showed that clinical trial activities were maintained at a high level during the pandemic.

Keywords

COVID-19

Trial recruitment

Oncology

Tertiary cancer center

Solid tumors

AbbreviationsASCO

American society of clinical oncology

CCCZ

Comprehensive cancer center Zurich

NCI-DCC

national cancer institute-designated cancer centers

USZ

University Hospital Zurich

© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.