Analyzing shopping habits to improve early cancer diagnosis

Cancer Loyalty Card Study 2: a Retrospective Observational Case-Control Study

This study is trying to see if changes in shopping habits can help spot cancer earlier by looking at purchase data from loyalty cards of people recently diagnosed with cancer and those without it.

Quick facts

• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 2900 (estimated)
• Ages: 18 Years and up
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: Imperial College London (other)
• Locations: 1 site (London)
• Trial ID: NCT06447064 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

The Cancer Loyalty Card Study 2 (CLOCS-2) aims to investigate whether changes in purchasing behaviors, as recorded by loyalty cards from high street retailers, can serve as early indicators of cancer diagnosis. This observational study will recruit at least 750 recently diagnosed cancer patients and 750 control participants without cancer, collecting up to six years of prior purchase data. Participants must be 18 years or older and hold a loyalty card from participating retailers. The study will utilize secure data management practices to ensure participant confidentiality.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal candidates include individuals aged 18 or older who have been recently diagnosed with specific types of cancer and have a loyalty card from participating retailers.

Not a fit: Patients who are under 18 years old or do not have a loyalty card from the participating retailers may not benefit from this study.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this study could lead to earlier cancer diagnoses, improving treatment outcomes and survival rates.

How similar studies have performed: While the approach of using retail data for health insights is innovative, similar studies have shown promise in other areas of health monitoring.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria (ALL):

* Individuals aged \>18 years of age
* Individuals must be residing in the United Kingdom at the time of giving informed consent
* Individuals must be registered with an NHS GP Practice
* Individuals must meet the criteria of ONE of the groups. For example, to be eligible for Group 1 (Cases), individuals must have been diagnosed with one of the following cancer types in the last 24 months: Bladder, colorectal (bowel), endometrial, liver, oesophageal, ovarian, pancreatic, stomach (gastric), uterine, or vulval; whereas for Group 2 (Controls), individuals must not have received a cancer diagnosis of any type in the last 6 years (except where the diagnosis was of non-melanoma skin cancer).
* Individuals must be a primary registered cardholder\* of one of the loyalty cards listed below, and consent to share their loyalty card data with the study team
* Tesco Clubcard
* Boots Advantage Card
* Provision of written informed consent
* Willing and able to comply with all required study activities

  * The primary registered card holder, i.e., the person who is named on the loyalty card account, must also enrol into the study, if someone other than the registered primary card holder from the same household, wants to take part in the study.

Exclusion Criteria (ALL):

* Individuals under the age of 18 years
* Non-UK residents, at the time of giving informed consent
* Individuals without an eligible loyalty card, or who have no one in their household who has an eligible loyalty card
* Individuals who are not the primary registered cardholder in their household and where the primary registered loyalty card holder is not willing to join the study, and/or where the primary registered cardholder does not make purchases for or on behalf of the individual

Exclusion Criteria (CASES):

• Individuals will not be able to join as a case if:

* they have been diagnosed with an eligible cancer type more than 24 months ago (except where the diagnosis was non-melanoma skin cancer).
* they have received an ineligible cancer diagnosis within the last 6 years except where the diagnosis was non-melanoma skin cancer).

Exclusion Criteria (Controls):

• Individuals will not be able to join as a control (Group 2) if:

o they have received any cancer diagnosis in the last six years (except where the diagnosis was non-melanoma skin cancer).

Where this trial is running

London

• Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust — London, United Kingdom (RECRUITING)

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Dr James Flanagan — Imperial College London
• Study coordinator: Yuscah Pondeca

Conditions: Pancreatic Cancer, Colon Cancer, Oesophageal Cancer, Stomach Cancer, Liver Cancer, Bladder Cancer, Uterine Cancer, Vulvar Cancer