Some 88% of people think that clinical trials are a good idea and 60% would be willing to participate in one, a new survey has found.

According to the findings, the figure of 60% marks an increase from 2020, when just 48% said they would be willing to take part in a clinical trial.

Meanwhile, the number wiling to take part increased to 79% if the person was very ill themselves. In 2020, this figure was 70%.

The survey was carried out on behalf of Cancer Trials Ireland to mark International Clinical Trials Day (May 20). Every year in Ireland, around 25,000 people are diagnosed with an invasive cancer and in the last 20 years, over 30,700 people have taken part almost 800 cancer clinical trials.

The survey found that 41% of people had experience of cancer involving either themselves or their immediate family, however only 16% were aware of someone who had taken part in a clinical trial.

Some 88% think that clinical trials are a good idea, up from 77% in 2020, while 75% believe such trials have many safeguards, up from 62% in 2020.

Among those who said they would be willing to take part in a trial, 75% said they would do this in the hope of helping others get better treatments in the future, while 55% would hope that their own disease would be cured. Some 55% said they would hope to improve their health and wellbeing, while 51% said they would hope to have a longer life as a result.

Overall, slightly more men (67%) than women (54%) would take part in a trial.

Commenting on the results, Cancer Trials Ireland CEO, Eibhlín Mulroe, welcomed the increasingly positive attitude towards clinical trials from members of the public.

“It is hugely reassuring to know that there is such wide acknowledgement of the positive benefits of clinical trials and that this has increased since our last research in 2020. Not only do more people think clinical trials are a good idea, but more are willing to take part in a clinical trial themselves,” she commented.

However, Ms Mulroe insisted that there is an urgent need to overhaul trial approval in Ireland. She noted that every trial in Ireland has to undergo both ethical and data protection approval and these are crucial to public confidence in trials.

“However, there is a clear and present danger that the National Research Ethics Committee (NREC), which is tasked with providing ethical approval for all clinical trials, not just cancer, will not have the resources required to meet a new 55-day turnaround time for trial applications due to come in next year.

“While this time scale is to be welcomed, the reality right now is that there is not enough staffing or resources in place by NREC to meet this and if the application timeline for a trial is not met, it will automatically be denied. This is a huge risk to attracting international trials to Ireland, where other countries can do things more quickly and efficiently,” she explained.

She also pointed out that with data protection, “we have a situation where we are having to make multiple applications to data protection officers in different hospitals for the same trial”.

“Depending on the data protection officer, different requirements are being requested of trial investigators. The result is greater bureaucracy, unnecessary duplication and longer waiting times. We urgently need to standardise this process and have one harmonised approach if trials are to remain feasible,” Ms Mulroe warned.

According to Prof Ray McDermott, a consultant medical oncologist and clinical lead with Cancer Trials Ireland, an increase in capacity is also needed to run cancer clinical trials in Ireland.

He noted that the National Cancer Strategy has set a target of 6% of people diagnosed with cancer to be on a clinical trial.

“Currently, we are at 2%. This survey shows the public is very positively disposed towards trials and their benefits and we need to harness this enthusiasm.

“The Department of Health needs to audit our cancer research capacity within hospitals and use this to inform an implementation plan to deliver on the 6% target. It is my view that we will likely need to at least double current levels of funding, staffing and resourcing, and this audit will help to confirm what’s required,” he said.

The survey was carried out by Behaviors & Attitudes in April and May, 2022. It involved a nationally representative adult sample of 1,010 people aged 16 and over.

For more information on Cancer Trials Ireland, click here.