START Launches Digital Hub to Expand Access to Cancer Trials

The platform uses advanced trial-matching tools and personalized navigation to help patients and their oncologists explore trial options efficiently.

The START Center for Cancer Research, the world’s largest network for early-phase, community-based cancer trials, has launched the START Hope Hub.

The latest launch is a digital platform designed to connect patients, caregivers, advocacy groups, and referring oncologists with rapid access to over 720 oncology clinical trials and supporting resources.

While more than 80% of cancer patients receive treatment in community settings, most early-phase trials are still concentrated in major academic institutions.

The START Hope Hub plans to bridge this gap by improving access to experimental therapies for patients across geographies.

“The START Hope Hub is a major leap forward in how we bring cancer clinical trials, oncology trial resources, and empathetic navigators to patients and their treating oncologists,” said Nick Slack, MBE, chairman and CEO of START.

“The Hope Hub is the next step in START's evolution, ensuring that access to trials is not limited by geography,” he added.

The platform uses advanced trial-matching tools and personalized navigation to help patients and their oncologists explore trial options efficiently. It allows users to search by location, proximity, condition, biomarker, or study ID, offering a single point of access to START’s global network of trials.

“As a physician, I know how daunting it can be for families to explore clinical trials,” said Dr Chris Takimoto, global chief medical officer at START.

“What the START Hope Hub provides is clarity, connection, and most importantly, possibility. It empowers oncologists and caregivers alike to explore the right options at the right time for the patients who need them most.”

The hub is also a valuable tool for advocacy organizations looking to share trial information with their networks.

With real-time updates and dedicated human support via the START Hope Team, the platform enhances the speed and quality of connections between patients and clinical trials, improving overall outcomes.

For biopharmaceutical sponsors, the START Hope Hub strengthens START’s capabilities to enroll participants quickly and efficiently.

The platform will enable sponsors to open and complete trials faster, reduce development timelines, and bring promising therapies to market with greater agility as the network grows.

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