TABLE 5.
Reasons for Participation in Early Phase Cancer Trial.
| What is the main reason you decided to enroll in an investigational study?* | Percent |
|---|---|
| No other treatment option | 14 |
| Best chance for cure | 15 |
| To help in quest for cure/to help gain knowledge | 25 |
| Treatment under investigation has promise | 58 |
| Did each of the following possible reasons contribute a lot, a little, or not at all to your decision to participate?** | Percent Responding “Contributed a lot” |
| I felt pressure to join from the physician who presented the investigational study. | 0 |
| I felt pressure from my family to join. | 6 |
| The investigational study was the best way to pay for treatment. | 10 |
| I would get extra medical attention from being in the investigational study. | 18 |
| I wanted to continue to see the physician who presented the investigational study at Hopkins/Duke. | 50 |
| My family thought it would be a good idea to join. | 43 |
| Joining the investigational study would give me peace of mind. | 44 |
| The investigational study sounded interesting. | 45 |
| Joining the investigational study was a way to advance medical science. | 46 |
| Because of my diagnosis, I felt I had little choice. | 48 |
| The investigational study offered a chance to get better treatment. | 50 |
| The physician who presented the investigational study thought it would be a good idea to join. | 52 |
| The investigational study was a way to help others. | 58 |
| Joining the investigational study gave me hope. | 60 |
| I had no reason not to join. | 61 |
| I trust the physician who told me about the investigational study. | 76 |
*
This was an open-ended question; response options for possible reasons were not provided.
**
This was a closed-ended question; possible reasons and response options were provided. Order of questions reorganized to list responses in order from those most to least likely to have “contributed a lot” to their decision to join.