Trial Finder Web App

Overview:

Why: The Trial Finder Web Application is a web-based tool designed to help clinicians and care teams quickly access trial-specific data, enabling faster response times and improved trial matching for patients.

How: The app integrates data from OnCore CTMS, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to populate key trial information.

Data Included: Protocol metadata, staff contact details, trial attributes, biomarkers, and more.

Access: We’ll be sharing more details soon about how to access the beta version of the Trial Finder Web App, so stay tuned!

Beta Launch Plan & Timeline

Release Date: October 15, 2025 (Tentative)

Scope: This beta version will include only interventional oncology treatment protocols with fully completed data in OnCore.

Clinicians and care teams can access the Trial Finder Web Application (Fred Hutch login required) to search, identify, and explore open-enrolling studies for their patients.

Click on the tabs below to learn more about the different information available to study teams on the Trial Finder web app.

Key Features

  • Multiple paths and modes of navigation for finding specific trials and discovering new ones.
  • Disease-type-based navigation to help clinicians and staff quickly find relevant trials.
  • Responsive application design is consistent across mobile and desktop environments.
  • “Cached” data makes the web app more tolerant of internet connectivity issues.

Flowchart

  • Visually maps diseases and conditions, including subtypes and progression stages, to help users navigate complex clinical landscapes.
  • Provides a structured layout that guides clinicians in identifying suitable trials based on a patient’s clinical presentation.
  • Enables quick access to trials relevant to a patient’s diagnosis and disease stage, reducing time spent reviewing unrelated studies.
  • Ensures trials appear under the correct disease category in Trial Finder by assigning them to the appropriate flowchart path in OnCore, improving trial visibility and match accuracy.

Key Trial Information

  • Provides a concise, high-level overview of each trial, derived from OnCore CTMS, including a brief study description, abbreviated treatment schedule, and key eligibility criteria.
  • Allows clinicians and staff to quickly determine whether a trial may be appropriate for their patient, supporting point-of-care decision-making without needing to review the full protocol.
  • Highlights clear eligibility criteria to reduce missed opportunities caused by unclear or inaccessible trial information.
  • Encourages trial awareness and promotes collaboration and referrals between clinicians by making trial details more visible and accessible.

Slot Information

  • Uses color-coded, pill-style indicators to highlight slot availability, which is an important factor in guiding enrollment decisions.
  • Displays real-time data on the number of participant spots available for each trial.
  • Enhances trial matching accuracy by helping clinicians avoid outreach to studies that are full or temporarily closed.
  • Streamlines the recruitment process and improves the overall user experience by surfacing actionable enrollment information at a glance.

Biomarkers

  • Leverages the NCI database to enrich biomarker data available to clinicians.
  • Enhances the precision and relevance of trial matching by incorporating standardized molecular information.
  • Enables clinicians to filter and browse trials that align with patients’ molecular profiles.
  • Streamlines the search for targeted therapies and improves access to trials with biomarker-driven eligibility.

Trial Finder App – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

General Information

What is Trial Finder?

Trial Finder is a web-based application designed to streamline patient recruitment for clinical trials. It provides clinicians and care teams with quick access to trial-specific data, helping accelerate the process of identifying and matching patients to appropriate trials.

Who can use Trial Finder?

Trial Finder is intended for clinical and research staff, including clinicians/investigators, advanced practice providers (APPs), clinical research nurses (CRNs), study coordinators, and recruitment specialists involved in matching patients to actively enrolling oncology trials.

What studies are displayed in the Trial Finder app?

The initial release includes actively enrolling oncology-related studies with a treatment component and an Interventional Data Table 4 report type. Study teams are encouraged to enter required data in OnCore during study setup, ideally post-SIV or at OTA, and no later than when the first patient is consented.

Is there a cost to use the application?

No. Trial Finder is free for staff affiliated with the Cancer Consortium. Login requires a University of Washington (UW) NetID or Fred Hutch credential.

How does Trial Finder help with patient recruitment?

The tool enables users to search trials by eligibility criteria, view real-time recruitment status, and connect with research teams, reducing manual effort and improving matching accuracy.

Functionality & Features

What are the key features of the Trial Finder app?

Trial Finder offers multiple navigation paths, including condition-based and biomarker-based filtering. Users can refine searches by study phase, participant age, investigator, and more. The responsive design ensures consistent performance across desktop and mobile devices, and cached data improves reliability during connectivity issues.

The Key Trial Information page provides a concise overview of each trial. including a brief study description, abbreviated treatment schedule, and key eligibility criteria, allowing clinicians to quickly assess trial suitability without reviewing the full protocol.

Clear eligibility criteria reduce missed opportunities and promote collaboration by making trial details more visible. Color-coded, pill-style indicators display slot availability, a key factor in guiding enrollment decisions. Real-time slot data improves matching accuracy and streamlines recruitment.

How do I search trials for eligible patients?

Use the advanced search feature to filter trials by condition, research group, biomarkers, participant age, study phase, investigator, and other criteria. Keyword searches and saved queries are also supported.

Can I search for trials by investigator or site location?

Yes. The advanced search feature allows filtering by investigator and site-specific attributes.

Can I save search results?

Yes. Users can bookmark conditions, biomarkers, and individual trials, which are accessible under the Saved Pages section.

Will future releases include observational or diagnostic trials?

The initial release focuses on interventional oncology treatment trials. Expansion to include observational or diagnostic trials is under consideration for future iterations.

Trial Data Management

How often is the trial data updated?

Trial data is refreshed daily via an overnight data transfer. Only studies with an Open to Accrual (OTA) status in OnCore are displayed.

How often should study teams update OnCore data?

Study teams should update OnCore as needed to reflect current trial information. Updates are required for protocol amendments affecting trial description, treatment schedule, eligibility criteria, slot availability, or recruitment contacts.

How often is slot availability updated?

Slot availability is refreshed daily during the overnight data transfer. However, the data will only reflect changes if the slot status has been updated by the study team. Study teams are responsible for updating slot availability in OnCore whenever there is a change and must record a ‘Last Updated’ date to indicate when the information was last modified.

What type of biomarkers are displayed?

The initial release displays biomarkers from inclusion criteria, organized into nine categories, from genetic markers to laboratory values and disease statuses. This enhances searchability and supports efficient patient-trial matching.

Should exclusion biomarkers be included?

Yes. Study teams should list exclusion biomarkers in the Key Eligibility section of the Key Trial Information page to provide valuable context for clinicians.

Do biomarkers apply to all disease types in a study?

Not necessarily. Biomarkers are designated at the protocol level and may apply only to specific disease types. For example, ‘NECTIN4 Positive’ may be relevant for cervical cancer but not urothelial cancer within the same trial.

User Access & Permissions

How do I access the Trial Finder web application?

We’ll be sharing more details soon about how to access the beta Trial Finder Web App, so stay tuned!

How do I create an account?

No account creation is required. Trial Finder is available to all Cancer Consortium members via UW NetID or Fred Hutch login.

Is Trial Finder available to the public or external institutions?

No. Trial Finder is an internal tool. We are exploring guest login options for external providers and updating the Fred Hutch public website to display trial information externally.

Data Privacy & Security

Where is the data coming from?

Trial Finder pulls data from OnCore CTMS, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the NCI to display protocol metadata, staff contacts, trial attributes, biomarker data, and more.

Is patient data protected?

Yes. Trial Finder does not store or display identifiable patient data.

Will usage data be tracked or reported?

Usage metrics will be collected to improve the application and optimize functionality. No identifiable user data is shared.

Support & Troubleshooting

Who do I contact for support or provide feedback?

Use the REDCap survey link at the bottom of the Trial Finder homepage or email CTMS@fredhutch.org.

Is there a user guide or training available?

Yes. Resources are available on the CTMS Documents & Videos webpage (OnCore login required), including job aids, work instructions, and a recorded webinar demo.

How do I report inaccurate or outdated trial information?

Users can report issues to CTMS@fredhutch.org. The CTMS team also conducts proactive data quality checks.