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Published on: 10/8/2009
Last Visited: 10/8/2009
"There are too few adults in clinical trials, especially in the field of cancer," says Jed Weissberg, director of medical research for Kaiser Permanente, which recruited employees for the STAR trial of two anti-breast cancer agents.
Noting that the situation is far different in pediatric oncology trials, where by far the majority of patients participate, and where results are also much better, Weissberg says, "In pediatric oncology, the field is so specialized, and there are so few oncologists, that they have a very strong network because they've put in the infrastructure to ensure that we learn from the treatment of every child."
Kaiser recruited patients for the STAR trial by sending information to members in its health plan.
"We didn't explicitly go to Boeing and Lockheed and say, 'We want you to put the information on your Web site.'" Kaiser mailed information on the trial to its membership.
"We also sent ads and marketing materials out to all of our own employees, because the vast majority of Kaiser employees are also our health plan members," said Weissberg.