Aims: In clinical trials of surgical innovation, scientific progress depends on patient willingness to participate, yet patient experience is rarely evaluated in minimally invasive thoracic surgery trials. As robotic and video-assisted surgical approaches become standard in lung cancer care, understanding how patients experience trial participation is critical to optimising recruitment, trial design, and clinician confidence in enrolling patients. This studied aimed to evaluate patient experiences of clinical trial participation involving advanced surgical modalities for lung cancer.
Methods: This two-site, mixed-methods study explored patient experiences in two surgical trials: DURATION (ctDNA monitoring) and VGT-309 (fluorescent imaging). Quantitative surveys were administered assessing motivations for enrolment, expectations, trial experiences and interactions with clinical and research teams. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis to explore experiences across the perioperative and trial journey.
Results: Patient experiences of trial participation were overwhelmingly positive. Twenty-six participants completed surveys and 16 completed interviews. Motivations for enrollment included advancing science (100%), altruism (80.8%), and personal benefit (61.5%). Participants consistently reported clear and reassuring communication, strong support from surgical and research staff, and minimal additional burden with trial participation. Most participants (88.5%) expressed willingness to participate in future trials, and 96.2% would recommend trial involvement to others. Qualitative analysis identified seven domains shaping patient experiences: motivations for enrollment, communication from the trials team, influences on surgical decision-making, surgical expectations, postoperative care, challenges to participation, and overall experience. Challenges including perioperative anxiety and logistical demands were minor and did not detract from overall satisfaction. Participants characterised trial participation as seamless and personally meaningful.
Conclusions: Patients undergoing minimally invasive thoracic surgery within clinical trials report overwhelmingly positive experiences. Patient-centered communication and supportive research environments enhance acceptability and engagement. These findings provide reassurance to clinicians and support the proactive enrolment of suitable patients into trial evaluating surgical innovation.