In support of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative, the American Cancer Society (ACS) will offer a first-of-its-kind Clinical Trials Navigation certificate for professionals providing non-clinical navigation services. This expansion of ACS’ existing Leadership in Oncology Navigation (ACS LION) program represents a significant step forward as the organization contributes to a multi-year effort driven by the Biden Cancer Moonshot to expand access to high-quality navigation services for patients and their families navigating treatment for cancer and other serious illnesses.

Clinical trials are critical to the development and advancement of new treatments for cancer; however, nearly 20% of cancer clinical trials are unsuccessful due to lack of patient participation. While approximately 70% of American cancer patients are inclined or willing to engage in clinical trials, only 7% of eligible cancer patients participate given barriers in trial recruitment, enrollment and retention.

To address these barriers and increase access to innovative clinical trial research, the new ACS LION Clinical Trials Certificate, available in January 2025, will equip professionals providing navigation services with the knowledge and skills to make clinical trials more accessible to patients. The enhanced support from patient navigators will enable more patients to gain access to potentially life-saving treatments and resources.

“Access to clinical trials can play a crucial role in a patient’s cancer journey by providing new treatment options that wouldn’t otherwise be available. Patient navigators can help ensure patients have equitable access to clinical trials, but more training is needed to standardize how professionals guide patients through the complexities of the healthcare system,” said Wayne A.  I. Frederick, MD, MBA, interim chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “ACS is proud to support the Biden Cancer Moonshot by leveraging our experience and scale to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer.”

“For over 30 years, ACS has led the way in establishing the field of navigation. ACS has funded dedicated provider and patient programs, developed training curricula, and united collaborators through the ACS National Navigation Roundtable,” said Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer for the American Cancer Society. “By continuing to empower professional navigators, in active partnership with oncology providers and the cancer community, we can create more opportunities for patients and their families to access these critical services, helping them make informed treatment decisions and ultimately resulting in better outcomes.”

The launch of ACS LION in January 2024 followed the change by CMS to cover nonclinical services related to patient navigation, a widely recognized intervention that helps individuals, caregivers and families through cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. Achieving consistent, reliable cancer navigation nationwide requires standardization of training that adheres to best practices.

To learn more about ACS LION, click here.

This story was published by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network on December 3, 2024. It is republished with permission.