Login to Access Video or Poster Abstract: MP76-04
Sources of Funding: none

Introduction

Clinical trials form the basis for clinical decision making. Most trials are funded by one of several large groups including the National Institute of Health (NIH,) pharmaceutical industry or university or other healthcare organization. In 2005, public reporting became required for major journal publication in 2007 the U.S.F.D.A. mandated registration for a large range of trials. We examine trends in funding for Urological malignancies across the last decade.

Methods

The publicly available www.clinicaltrials.gov website was individually queried for new trials first received between 2006 and 2015 for the following search terms: "prostate cancer," "kidney cancer" and "bladder cancer." Each category was then stratified by funder type including: NIH, Industry, Other Federal Agency and all others (individuals, universities, organizations.) Trends in funding sources across the decade were examined.

Results

Newly registered clinical trials from 2006 to 2015 included 2,487 prostate, 901 kidney and 517 bladder trials, with an upward trend in overall, prostate and bladder trials across the decade. Figure 1 reflects the distribution among cancer type. For all three malignancies, the absolute number of NIH-funded trials decreased while industry funded trials increased when comparing 2006 to 2015. Prostate cancer: NIH: 52 &[rarr] 36, Industry: 67 &[rarr] 83 (p=0.043) Kidney cancer: NIH: 37 &[rarr] 15, Industry: 28 &[rarr] 38 (p=0.002) Bladder cancer: NIH 15 &[rarr] 10, Industry 12 &[rarr] 39 (p=0.002). Similarly, the percentage of NIH funded trials showed a progressive decrease across the decade for all three malignancies. Trials run by &[prime]other&[prime] organizations including individuals, universities and organizations displayed the most growth comprising 13-27% of studies in 2006 compared to 43-57% of trials in 2015. Percentage distribution by funder type for each malignancy is reflected in Figure 2.

Conclusions

The funding of new trials for prostate, kidney and bladder cancer have each exhibited a progressive, sustained decrease in federally-funded trials across the last decade, while there has been in an increase in industry funded trials. It is critical to consider the sources of funding for clinical trials, and strive for balanced distribution of research funds.

Funding

none