KRAS Clinical Trial Finder: A Patient-Centered Platform for Improving Access to Clinical Trial Information.

Abstract

KRAS mutations are linked to aggressive cancers, yet many patients struggle to locate trials that match their tumor subtype or circumstances. This study presents the design and user-centered evaluation of the KRAS Clinical Trial Finder, a patient-centered platform that improves access to KRAS-specific clinical trial information. A Python pipeline was developed to extract and transform KRAS-related trials from ClinicalTrials.gov into a relational database, which was presented through an interactive R Shiny dashboard offering plain-language summaries and distance calculations. Twenty-eight KRAS Kickers patients and care partners completed four usability tasks, evaluated with the Single Ease Question (SEQ) and System Usability Scale (SUS). Results demonstrated excellent usability (mean SEQ 6.44/7; SUS 91.4) and rapid task completion (mean 66.5 seconds), with 95% expressing willingness to reuse the system. Qualitative analysis identified five improvement domains: visibility, personalization, education, empowerment, and accessibility. Future directions include EHR integration, AI-enabled trial matching, enhanced education, and multilingual support.