Internet to boost patient accrual in oncology trials? A multiinstitutional AERIO study.

摘要

During the last decade, Internet has become an essential tool in private and in professional life worldwide. Simultaneously, the number of Web sites dedicated to health issues and more particularly to cancer has been growing rapidly. Several studies have already reported that Internet is one of the sources of information most consulted by patients with cancer in search of health information [1-3]. In parallel, enrolment in clinical trials has become a key issue in clinical oncology and increasing accrual is highly encouraged. Companies are designing new Internet tools and Web sites to accelerate trials [4] but whether Internet can help recruit more patients is not known. A recent publication [5] indirectly suggested that USA patients use the net to gain access to trials. To address the potential role and receptivity of Internet on the enrolment of patients with cancer, we carried out a French prospective multiinstitutional study.