Patient-Guided Oncology Trials: Why The Patient Perspective Is Essential To Success

By Stacy Hurt, MHA, MBA, Chief Patient Officer; Kristina Reeder, Director, Patient Engagement; and Nichola Gokool, Senior Director, Patient Engagement

Patients are experts in their own lived experiences, making them invaluable partners in the drug development process. As sponsors and CROs work to create therapies that address unmet medical needs, it’s essential that the patient’s voice is integral to every stage of development. This is especially crucial in oncology research, where patients enrolled in trials are often those who have exhausted first- or second-line treatments, leaving them very ill and understandably frightened.

When patients place their trust in us to manage their care, we have a responsibility to honor that trust by designing studies that truly reflect their needs and concerns. By adopting a patient-guided approach, sponsors and CROs can focus on achieving outcomes that resonate most with the patients they aim to help, ensuring that the therapies developed are both effective and meaningful to those who need them most.