Unlocking Community Health

Read time: 4 minutes

Cancer Research Summit 2025 is a global event that brings together leading scientists, researchers and professionals from around the world to share the latest findings, innovations and insights in cancer research.

This year’s event featured a mainstage panel discussion sponsored by McKesson on the important role community oncology practices play in enhancing patient access and engagement in clinical trials. Moderated by Dee Anna Smith, CEO of Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI), the panel included:

• Mia Velasquez-Egan, Vice President of Research Operations, The US Oncology Network, McKesson
• David Spigel, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, SCRI; Oncologist, SCRI Oncology Partners, a practice in The US Oncology Network

The panel agreed that clinical trials should be the first option for individuals battling cancer, not a last resort. Yet only 5% engage in clinical research, with participation for rare cancers even lower. The panelists addressed challenges and explored ways to break down barriers to clinical trial participation in the communities where most patients receive care.

Below are key takeaways from this moderated panel discussion.

Putting Community Oncology Practices at the Center of Clinical Research

Clinical trials are key to advancing scientific discovery and improving patient care, but they are challenging and complex to conduct, particularly for rare cancers. Patients, on the other hand, encounter significant barriers to trial enrollment, including structural issues like limited rural access and clinical hurdles like complex eligibility criteria, leading to over 40% of Americans being unaware of clinical trials.

Today approximately 85% of cancer patients receive treatment in the communities where they live. Community oncology practices, which often serve diverse patient populations in rural areas, play a crucial role in not only broadening the access to clinical trials beyond large hospitals or academic centers, but also facilitating representation from a broader range of patients, ensuring the research includes the people most affected by specific cancers.

At McKesson, through our joint venture with SCRI, one of the world’s leading oncology research organizations conducting community-based clinical trials, we are expanding patient access to cutting-edge treatments close to home. With over 250 trial locations in 24 states, we eliminate barriers, allowing patients to access research without traveling to large academic centers.

“Thousands of patients don’t have access to large institutions or academic centers,” Dr. Spigel noted. “Our job is to bring the best science and a menu of great opportunities to local community doctors, help them build the necessary infrastructure, and provide them with resources to conduct research while delivering the best care to patients.”

“40% of the U.S. population is within 15-20 minutes of a practice we support,” said Velasquez-Egan. “There is this incredible ‘haystack’ of patients who may be right for a trial, but finding that ‘needle,’ that one patient who would be a match is really tough for physicians and their staff. We can help practices find that needle through our technology offerings."

Enhancing Clinical Trial Infrastructure and Operations Is Key to Expanding Access and Accelerating Development in the Community Setting

Many community-based oncology practices face infrastructure and operational hurdles to function as clinical trial sites and bridge the access gap. To address this challenge, McKesson and SCRI:

• Partner with sites to securely manage drug distribution, storage and accountability, handle large data volumes with quality assurance, and use AI-driven platforms to match patients with suitable community-based treatment trials.
• Offer robust support, financial stability, advanced clinical resources and education to empower community oncology practices, enhancing patient access and care quality.
• Provide community practices with advanced technology, workflow resources and real-world data and insights to seamlessly integrate clinical trials and retain patients.

“It’s on us to make the process as easy as possible for community oncologists and their teams, given all of the complexity that exists in research and their already very busy everyday workflow,” added Velasquez-Egan.

“We remove barriers so that more patients have access to innovative treatment options through clinical trials. The physicians’ spirit is willing, and we help ensure not only that it gets done, but also that quality is the first priority as it relates to getting the right patients on the right trials at the right times,” Smith added. “Technology, in so many ways, is the glue that provides patient access and ties together what it is that we're trying to do at scale."

Continuing to Provide Education and Build Trust with the Community We Serve 

McKesson provides continuous education to practices in The US Oncology Network, covering topics such as using biomarkers to match patients with precision medicine trials, choosing suitable molecular tests, and interpreting results and best practices in biopsy workflows. We also focus on patient education and direct-to-patient strategies, partnering with research sponsors to boost local awareness and participation in trials. Our outreach educates people most affected by a disease about accessing trials within their own communities, where they receive care and feel most at ease.

"Education is important. It's not just the investment, it's not just how you embed research and make it a core part of the practice’s everyday operations, but also how you can have the full team really recognize the importance of the therapy that we're testing and that it may be the lifesaving standard of care in a few years,” Velasquez-Egan explained.

Dr. Spigel agreed and touched on the importance of keeping up with all the latest research, treatment guidelines, and biomarker testing from a clinical perspective. “In oncology, you can’t take care of anyone without the advanced understanding of the genomic profile of the patient’s tumor. We help community oncologists understand these complex genetic testing results, access them in real-time and match patients to specific trials.”

View the on-demand recording here. Learn more about McKesson’s oncology and specialty solutions by visiting Oncology Solutions | McKesson.