Clinical Trial and Treatment Support for Cancer Journeys Summus June 1, 2023

Clinical Trial and Treatment Support for Cancer Journeys

Summus recently announced our collaboration with Leal Health to transform access to clinical trials. Cancer is the leading driver of healthcare costs for employers. Through our collaboration with Leal Health, we are delivering access to clinical trial information and options for employees and health plan members.

Leal Health, the leading cancer treatment decision support platform used by patients, makes it easy for patients with cancer to understand their eligibility for clinical trials, treatment options and support for decisions.

Why transform access to clinical trials for patients with cancer?

Clinical trials can increase the number of treatment options for a patient, including treatment options not available to most patients that may work better than current treatments. People with cancer also struggle with feelings of loss of control of their body, health and healthcare. These feelings add to stress and trauma experienced by so many patients. Participation in a clinical trial and providing options to an individual can allow them to feel greater autonomy and return a sense of control to a stressful process.

Historically, it’s been difficult to enroll patients in clinical trials. Hundreds of trials are stopped every year due to low enrollment, slowing science and potential treatments. In the United States today, there are more than 30,000 registered clinical trials1 for cancer treatments, with more than 2,3002 new trials beginning each year. It is impossible for community oncologists to keep up with the volume of new trials, leaving patients on their own to research what might be available to them.

Traditionally, information on trials has been difficult to find. Existing databases use complicated inclusion and exclusion criteria written in scientific and medical terms that make it inaccessible to most individuals, especially from historically marginalized communities, reducing diversity in trials and equity in health outcomes. When trials are available, many patients also lack the decision-making support from expert clinicians who are able to help them decide which trial, if any, is right for them.

Through a simple user interface, Leal Health guides patients with cancer through a carefully crafted questionnaire and applies artificial intelligence to produce a list of appropriate clinical trials. Leal Health’s expert team is able to answer questions and give patients the information they need to discuss available trials with their treating oncologists or leading oncologists in the Summus network so that patients can make an informed choice.

Every day at Summus, we see the impact of how fast access to high quality expertise radically changes the health of our members. Personalized clinical trial expertise can improve patient outcomes and provide support that’s needed in the moments that matter most.

For more information
Summus provides personalized virtual support for any cancer journey, learn more here.

1 – https://www.who.int/observatories/global-observatory-on-health-research-and-development/monitoring/number-of-trial-registrations-by-year-location-disease-and-phase-of-development#data-sources

2 – https://www.statista.com/statistics/1092600/oncology-clinical-trial-starts-worldwide/

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