During the discussions, three themes were identified:
- “Treatment and clinic visits provide reassurance”: reducing hospital visits may not improve quality of life.
- “Assessment of personal risk versus benefit”: the decision to take part in a study to change the treatment schedule to reduce the dose of immune checkpoint inhibitors is influenced by treatment response, side effects and perceived logistical benefits based on the individual’s circumstances.
- “Pre-existing experience and beliefs about how treatment and trials work”, including the belief that more treatment is better, influence views around these trials.
This study provides insight into recruitment challenges and recommends strategies to enhance recruitment for ongoing trials using a reduced immunotherapy dosing schedule. These findings will influence the design of future trials ensuring they are acceptable to patients.
Alison Fielding (trustee) and Sharon Deveson Kell from Action Kidney Cancer are authors of this paper.