DSAI-06 LEPTOTRIALS: A REAL-TIME, DATA-DRIVEN WEBSITE PLATFORM FOR LEPTOMENINGEAL CANCER CLINICAL TRIAL MATCHING
Tejas Gluth, Jonathan Yang, Priya Kumthekar, Helaine Bader, Seema NagpalAbstract
Purpose
Patients with leptomeningeal cancer (LMC) have few clinical trial options, as LMC is often an exclusion criteria. Clinicaltrials.gov is a large public database of registered clinical trials, but is difficult to search/navigate. We sought to create a LMC-specific clinical trials website which searches Clinicaltrials.gov in real time, using advanced data analytics and search tools, in a user-friendly platform.
Methods
We developed LeptoTrials (leptotrials.com) as a web-based clinical trial finder using a JavaScript/TypeScript frontend and backend querying live ClinicalTrials.gov APIv2 with SQL and Python. The search pipeline queries ClinicalTrials.gov in real time using complementary condition- and term-based searches for LMC, incorporating exclusion criteria, then merges results and removes duplicates by NCT identifier. User-facing filters include patient age, study type, country, trial phase, and tumor type. To maximize accuracy, returned studies underwent iterative validation by neuro-oncology trial experts, with code refinements to address inconsistencies in ClinicalTrials.gov entries, including variable disease terminology and eligibility text. After launch, the site was circulated to patients, advocates, and physicians. Usability was assessed using the System Usability Scale (SUS).
Results
As of March 2026 ClinicalTrials.gov data, LeptoTrials identified 81 active LMC trials, verified with expert-guided review. Most trials were interventional (87.7%) and most were actively recruiting (64.2%). Over a third (37.7%) of trials were multicenter. Most common countries were China (51.9%) and US (35.1%). Mean SUS score was 88.3 (SD 1.6), indicating excellent usability.
Conclusions
We built and validated the first, patient facing clinical trials resource for LMC. This web platform queries live API data in real time on clinical trials throughout the globe, returning relevant results instantly through a fast, interactive interface. Users report excellent usability, and the tool is now being actively disseminated across the LMC community, including foundations, funders, patients, and advocates.