January 22, 2014 | A survey by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network has revealed that only 19% of patients with pancreatic cancer speak to their doctors about entering clinical trials before they begin treatment. The rate grows even worse as treatments fail – only 4% discuss clinical trials after a first-line treatment fails, and only 4% after a second- or third-line treatment fails, even though these patients need new options more than ever.

Paul Ivsin, author of the blog Placebo Lead-In, suggests that since this conventional contact point with clinical trials has failed to connect patients with relevant studies, links to clinical trials should be placed where patients and their doctors are more likely to find them: on the Wikipedia pages for specific conditions, which more than half of all physicians report consulting at some point in their practice. PR Newswire