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To help address challenges in navigating clinical trial conversations with patients, the ACCC Community Oncology Research Institute developed a practical, quick-reference resource that offers conversation guidance, suggested patient-friendly language, responses to common questions and concerns, and educational resources to support communication across the multidisciplinary cancer care team.
Clinical trials are an essential part of advancing cancer care, yet many patients may not fully understand when trials are available, how they work, or whether participation is an option for them. Misconceptions, complex medical terminology, practical barriers, and inconsistent communication can make it difficult for patients and families to navigate these decisions.
For oncology teams, the challenge is not simply providing information about clinical trials. It is ensuring that patients receive clear, balanced, and consistent information at the right time; have opportunities to ask questions; and feel supported in making decisions that reflect their needs and preferences.
To help address these challenges, the Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC), through the ACCC Community Oncology Research Institute (ACORI), developed Clinical Trial Communication Tips: Helping Patients Understand Clinical Trials Throughout Their Cancer Journeys. This practical, quick-reference resource provides conversation guidance, suggested patient-friendly language, responses to common questions and concerns, and educational resources to support communication across the multidisciplinary cancer care team.
Clinical trial conversations are complex. Patients may be processing a new diagnosis, weighing treatment options, coping with uncertainty, or trying to understand unfamiliar terminology. Even when a trial may be appropriate, patients may not recognize it as a potential optionor may have concerns that prevent them from exploring it further.
Some patients believe that clinical trials are a last resort, that participation means receiving a placebo instead of standard cancer treatment, or that research is inherently unsafe. Others may worry that joining a study means losing control over their care. Historical mistrust of medical research and concerns about whether a trial is appropriate for a person's individual circumstances can further complicate these conversations.
The ACORI tip sheet addresses these perceptions directly, encouraging care teams to explain the purpose of clinical research, discuss participant protections and safety oversight, and clarify that participation is voluntary. It also emphasizes that eligible patients should have the opportunity to learn about clinical trials without assumptions about their interest or willingness to participate.
The ACORI resource organizes clinical trial communication into six stages. Together, these stages offer a framework for introducing trial options, addressing questions and concerns, and maintaining communication as patients consider their choices.
The first step is to position clinical trials as a routine treatment consideration whenever appropriate. Teams are encouraged to discuss trials at diagnosis or during initial treatment planning, present them alongside standard treatment options, and offer information to every eligible patient.
Care teams should also assess patient understanding and readiness, provide take-home information, and arrange follow-up—ideally within one week of the initial consultation, or sooner when treatment decisions are time-sensitive.
Once a trial has been introduced, patients need information they can understand and opportunities to explore their concerns. Providers should use plain-language, culturally sensitive communication, teach-back methods, and explanations of how cancer type, subtype, stage, biomarkers, and prior treatment history may affect trial options and eligibility. Teams are encouraged to explain clinical trial phases in patient-friendly terms and include nontreatment trials, such as supportive care or observational studies, when relevant.
Understanding a trial's medical aspects is only part of the decision. Patients also need to know what participation will involve.
The care team should discuss visit frequency, treatment duration, testing, follow-up schedules, travel requirements, and time commitments. Where applicable, teams should explain whether any components may be completed remotely or from home.
Financial discussions are equally important. Patients may have questions about insurance coverage, study-related costs, out-of-pocket expenses, reimbursement, or available financial navigation services.
The screening process can introduce another layer of uncertainty. Patients may undergo testing or wait for results without fully understanding what those steps mean or whether they guarantee enrollment.
Patients should be informed that while screening determines eligibility, it does not guarantee enrollment. Care teams should explain why waiting periods may be necessary to identify the safest and most appropriate trial. Proactive communication during this time can help reduce uncertainty and prevent patients from disengaging because they do not understand what is happening.
Informed consent is an essential part of clinical trial participation, but meaningful decision-making requires more than reviewing a consent document. Care teams should explain patient rights, privacy protections, safety oversight, potential benefits, risks, alternatives, and uncertainties in clear, balanced language. Patients should also be encouraged to involve family members or caregivers in discussions when they wish to do so.
Patients should understand that participation is voluntary, that they can ask questions and take time to consider their options, and that they may choose not to participate or withdraw later.
Clinical trial communication should continue beyond the initial discussion and consent process. Teams should follow up after initial discussions, explain how study updates or results may be shared when applicable, and reinforce the availability of navigation services and other support. This ongoing communication reassures patients that they do not have to navigate clinical trial decisions alone.
Although clinical trial communication is often associated with the treating oncologist or research team, the tip sheet provides guidance and resources to encourage trial discussions across the multidisciplinary team. Each team member has a different opportunity to help patients understand trial options, identify unanswered questions, and navigate the process.
Oncologists and other treating clinicians can introduce trials alongside standard treatment options, explain why a study may be relevant, and encourage patients to learn more without creating pressure to participate.
Research nurses and clinical research coordinators can explain study-specific procedures, screening requirements, visit schedules, and consent-related questions. They can also reinforce information provided by the treating clinician and help patients understand the next steps.
Nurses and advanced practice providers can revisit information during routine care, identify misconceptions, and create additional opportunities for patients to express concerns.
Patient navigators and social workers can help address transportation, lodging, financial, caregiving, and other practical barriers. They can connect patients with available support services and clarify whom to contact when questions arise.
Pharmacists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, and other specialists can help explain treatment considerations and how a trial may fit within the broader care plan.
Across these roles, the tip sheet can serve as a common reference for the language teams use, the questions they anticipate, and the information they reinforce.
Clinical trials are an important component of cancer care, and patients deserve opportunities to learn about relevant options throughout their cancer journeys. Achieving that goal requires more than making trial information available. It requires coordinated conversations that address patients' questions, acknowledge their concerns, and provide clear next steps.
ACORI's Clinical Trial Communication Tips: Helping Patients Understand Clinical Trials Throughout Their Cancer Journeys offers oncology teams a practical framework for doing this work. By focusing on early introduction, understanding and trust, logistics, screening and enrollment, shared decision-making, and follow-up, the resource helps teams recognize communication as an ongoing, multidisciplinary responsibility.
When clinical trial communication becomes a shared effort across the cancer care team, patients are better positioned to ask questions, explore appropriate options, and make informed decisions that reflect what matters most to them.
Mandy Shipp is the Senior Director of Clinical Research at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.
