Cancer patients receive the best care at sites where therapeutic cancer studies are available, but many cannot join due to financial barriers. The Dan L Duncan Cancer Center (DLDCCC) serves most of the underserved cancer patients in Harris County via an affiliation with Harris Health (HH). In 2020, the racial/ethnic mixture of HH patients was 25.3% NonHispanic Black and 53.6% Hispanic. Fifty-eight percent of HH cancer patients are uninsured, 27% have Medicaid or Medicare and 15% have commercial insurance/other funding. Over 95% of cancer patients in HH have incomes below 4 times the federal poverty level (FPL). The DLDCCC has more than 40 therapeutic studies open at HH, but only 34 patients ...

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Cancer patients receive the best care at sites where therapeutic cancer studies are available, but many cannot join due to financial barriers. The Dan L Duncan Cancer Center (DLDCCC) serves most of the underserved cancer patients in Harris County via an affiliation with Harris Health (HH). In 2020, the racial/ethnic mixture of HH patients was 25.3% NonHispanic Black and 53.6% Hispanic. Fifty-eight percent of HH cancer patients are uninsured, 27% have Medicaid or Medicare and 15% have commercial insurance/other funding. Over 95% of cancer patients in HH have incomes below 4 times the federal poverty level (FPL). The DLDCCC has more than 40 therapeutic studies open at HH, but only 34 patients participated in 2019. Our needs assessment suggests that more patients would enroll if they could obtain transportation, meals and childcare during study visits and support for an accompanying caregiver. We will improve participation in therapeutic cancer trials by economically disadvantaged and racial/ethnic minority patients in HH by implementing a clinical trials financial support program (CTFSP). HH patient navigators will work with DLDCCC physicians and research coordinators as clinical trial candidates are identified. The navigator will explain the CTFSP during study screening visits and HH eligibility coordinators will document financial eligibility (<400% of FPL). The navigator will work with the study coordinator to identify and enroll patients in the program. CTFSP patients will be reimbursed monthly by the DLDCCC finance office for travel, childcare and meals during visits and reimbursed for an accompanying caregiver. We aim to increase enrollment of economically disadvantaged patients and NonHispanic Black and Hispanic patients by 300% by project completion, and elucidate factors that influence implementation of the project. From a baseline of 34 patients/year on therapeutic cancer trials we will increase to 102 patients/year by the end of the 3 year period.

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