Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded a planning grant of $281,820 to the University of Kentucky Research Foundation under the Cancer Cause and Prevention Research program (CFDA 93.393) on July 1, 2026, with completion scheduled for June 30, 2029. This project grant supports the development and planning of a future intervention trial designed to improve clinical trial education and patient enrollment in cancer therapeutic studies. The planning phase will address the persistent challenge of low cancer patient participation in clinical trials, where current enrollment rates remain stagnant despite existing strategies such as precision oncology protocols and patient decision aids. The research recognizes that patient enrollment decisions are influenced by multiple factors beyond trial-specific information, including patient misunderstanding, mistrust, negative attitudes, and communication barriers that limit meaningful participation in clinical trial discussions and decision-making processes.

The grant supports preparatory research to extend beyond conventional enrollment strategies by developing evidence-based interventions that address the underlying educational and interpersonal barriers to trial participation. This planning activity is particularly focused on improving access and enrollment in underserved populations, including rural areas characterized by insufficient clinical trial accrual. The resulting intervention framework and trial design specifications developed through this planning phase will inform a subsequent full-scale intervention trial aimed at increasing cancer patient participation in therapeutic clinical trials and ultimately advancing cancer care outcomes and treatment development.