New law gives patients equal access to cancer clinical trials and helps improve minority participation
| CHICAGO, Feb. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Illinois Lawmakers announce a new law that will help thousands of cancer patients in the state. SB1711, the Clinical Trial Participation Act gives all Illinois cancer patients new hope by providing access to potentially life-saving breakthrough medical advancements in clinical trials.
The legislation, approved unanimously, aims to improve participation and retention in cancer clinical trials, especially among underserved populations. The law clarifies that reimbursing patients for the out of pocket expenses necessary to travel to a clinical trial site is not to be considered inducement or coercion. A national study found that patient households making less than $50,000 annually were almost 30 percent less likely to participate in clinical trials. This disparity threatens one of the most basic ethical foundations of clinical research: the requirements that the benefits of research be made available equitably among all eligible individuals. Clinical trials offer advanced treatments before the general public can access them. All new treatments must complete a clinical trial before becoming FDA approved, and they must have patients enrolled to be successful. However, an estimated 97 percent of cancer patients don’t enroll because clinical trial sites are often far from home, making travel for patients both difficult and financially burdensome. Similar legislation is currently being considered in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Florida, New Mexico, and is already law in California, Pennsylvania and Texas. About Lazarex Cancer Foundation:
SOURCE Lazarex Cancer Foundation |
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