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New research reveals that participating in cancer clinical trials can cause financial burdens that are shaped by both socioeconomic and logistical factors. The analysis published by Wiley online in CANCER, indicates the need for better reimbursement programs to improve equitable access to, and retention in, cancer clinical trials.

For adults with cancer, participating in clinical trials can carry costs related to travel, lodging, meals, internet access, missed work and greater need for child care or elder care. In the United States, federal legislation addressing financial support for clinical trial participants is currently under consideration. Recognizing the need for financial support for participation in trials, the Lazarex Cancer Foundation reimbursed out-of-pocket nonmedical costs from 2006 to 2024 for patients enrolled in therapeutic cancer clinical trials across multiple U.S. sites.

When investigators examined the types and amounts of expenses faced by trial participants, they found that among 2,826 individuals who received at least one reimbursement, median total per-patient reimbursement was $2,128, median trial participation duration was 4.3 months, and monthly reimbursed amounts declined substantially throughout trial participation (with monthly reimbursements falling to 60% of initial levels by three months into trial participation).

Importantly, the program reimbursed expenses only if there were no other sources of financial support from the trial sponsor or site.

Types of reimbursement varied by patient income: internet, ground transportation and child care or elder care were more common at lower income levels, while lodging and airfare were more common at higher income levels.

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