Assessing Disparities in Cancer Clinical Trial Availability in Georgia using Geographic Information System (GIS) Analysis

Access to cancer trials is a key quality measure for healthcare service delivery. Yet, minorities are less likely to participate in clinical trials and rural populations often lack necessary access. A statewide study of cancer trial availability in relation to cancer morbidity was conducted by the Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education using the searchable clinical trials database, Georgia Cancer Trials. The state-specific database receives imports from the national clinical trials reporting system, TrialCheck, segmenting Georgia studies into the database. Data regarding the number of trials, locations and cancer incidence rates were collected in fall 2008. The validated, geocoded data was mapped using Geographic Information System (GIS) Analysis.

Results showed that Georgia had 319 adult cancer clinical trials offered across 19 counties, in 25 cities. Over 63 percent of cancer trials in Georgia are in metro-Atlanta counties. With the highest rates of new cancer cases being largely in non-Metro counties, GIS maps depicted large disparities in clinical trial available for rural populations, especially in African Americans in Georgia. Disparities in clinical trial availability for African American populations were found across major cancer types, particularly in comparison of prostate and breast cancer where incidence of prostate cancer in was significantly higher than breast cancer, yet 80 percent less trials prostate cancer trials were available compared to breast cancer patients. Georgia CORE is currently using the study findings to expand the reach of cancer clinical trials in the state through outreach of Investigator-Initiated trials, multidisciplinary working groups and Gynecologic Oncology Consortium.