Clinical Trials

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Clinical trials are a key component of high-quality care for cancer patients and enable cancer breakthroughs. Clinical trials help cancer patients access the latest innovations in cancer care, and they help advance new standards of care that can improve survival rates and quality of life for people with cancer.  

Unfortunately, clinical trial participation can be difficult and unreachable for many cancer patients, who often have to take time off work, travel long distances, and incur significant costs to participate. This leads to many clinical trials being unable to enroll enough participants and increasingly is leading to more clinical trials for new treatments and therapies being conducted outside of the U.S.  

ACS CAN is working to reduce barriers to clinical trial participation and increase enrollment among underrepresented groups, including rural residents, those with limited income, older adults and communities of color. 

Take Action

woman looking through a microscope

Urge your members of Congress to make clinical trials more accessible

No cancer patient should have to pass up a clinical trial because of where they live or how much money they make. That’s why we need Congress to act. Send a message to your members of Congress and urge them to pass a bill that will make clinical trials more accessible.

Latest Updates

September 14, 2026
National

More than 750 cancer patients, survivors and advocates from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico, will be on Capitol Hill this week.

August 24, 2026

Today, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), joined by 128 other patient advocacy groups, public health organizations and professional societies, submitted a letter responding to the request for information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG) regarding

August 19, 2026
National

According to a new American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) survey, 89% of cancer patients and survivors say they would be more likely to participate in a clinical trial outside their local area if trial sponsors helped them organize or pay for travel and lodging to offset the extra travel.

July 13, 2026
National

Today, the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network submitted a comment letter to the Office of Management and Budget strongly opposing a proposed rule that would change the federal government’s grantmaking framework.

Clinical Trials Resources

ACS CAN submitted comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the Diversity Plans To Improve Enrollment of Participants From Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Populations in Clinical Trials Draft Guidance for Industry. 

The objective of cancer research is to generate new knowledge that can be used to improve survival and quality of life for patients with cancer. Clinical trials are the key step in advancing potential new cancer treatments from the research setting to the cancer care clinic, and patient participation in trials is crucial to this success.

This report examines the drug development landscape for childhood cancer, identifying scientific, logistical, economic and ethical challenges that are unique to pediatric cancer drug development. 

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