Systematic review of barriers and facilitators to clinical trial enrollment among adolescent and young adults with cancer: Identifying opportunities for intervention

BACKGROUND: Adolescents and young adults (AYA) are underrepresented in cancer clinical trials (CCTs). Limited trial enrollment slows progress in improving survival rates and prevents the collection of valuable biospecimens. A systematic literature review was conducted to assess barriers and facilitators to AYA enrollment onto CCTs and identify opportunities to improve enrollment. METHODS: PubMed Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsychInfo databases were searched to identify studies relevant to AYA CCT enrollment. Eligibility criteria included qualitative and/or quantitative evaluation of barriers and facilitators to AYA enrollment. RESULTS: One-hundred and fifty-five unique manuscripts were identified; 13 manuscripts were included in the final analysis. Barriers to AYA enrollment on CCTs included lack of existing trials applicable to the patient population, limited access to available CCTs, and lack of physician awareness of relevant trials. Facilitators to enrollment included optimization of research infrastructure, improving awareness of available CCTs amongst providers, and enhancing communication about CCTs between providers and patients. CONCLUSIONS: The limited available research reports institution- and patient-level barriers and facilitators to AYA CCT enrollment. Given persistent disparities in AYA enrollment, there is an urgent need to further identify the barriers and facilitators to AYA CCT enrollment to determine actionable areas for intervention.