Thomson Healthcare Cancer Profiler Use...( Minority Interest in Cl...),Health

Minority Interest in Clinical Trials Identified

STAMFORD, Conn., March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- When researching cancer treatment information, ethnic minorities are just as inclined as Caucasians to be interested in information about clinical trials, according to a study published in Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology. The study, "An examination of the influence of patient race and ethnicity on expressed interest in learning about cancer clinical trials," analyzed Internet use patterns among over 60,000 patients searching for information about cancer treatment.

Researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston conducted the study by analyzing patient usage of Thomson Healthcare's (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) online cancer profilers, which are embedded in over 100 cancer information Web sites, including the American Cancer Society's cancer.org. The online cancer profiler tools are free of charge and accessible under the "treatment decision" links on the American Cancer Society Web site. The tools allow patients and caregivers to enter detailed information about diagnoses and receive treatment options and information that can be used in the management of their conditions. One of the questions in the profiler is: "Are you interested in learning about clinical trials?" Researchers parsed the responses to this question against self-reported race/ethnicity data to come to the conclusion that African-American, Asian-American and Hispanic patients are just as inclined to indicate interest in clinical trials as their Caucasian counterparts.

"In this examination, more than 60,000 patients, who self-identified their race/ethnicity, responded to a question regarding their interest
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