The REFoRMS Project
The REFoRMS Project is a University of York research programme dedicated to bringing together early phase clinical studies of treatments for relapsed and refractory rhabdomyosarcoma in children and young people. The project serves families, healthcare professionals, and researchers who need clear, reliable information to support difficult treatment decisions.
The challenge
The REFoRMS team needed a website capable of serving a diverse audience, from parents of children and young people with a diagnosis of relapsed or refractory rhabdomyosarcoma (rare childhood cancer) to clinicians and researchers looking for detailed study data in this field. The site needed to present complex, clinical trial information clearly and accessibly, without oversimplifying it for professionals or making it inaccessible to families. It also needed to function as a living resource, updated regularly as the systematic review progresses.
The solution
We designed and built a bespoke WordPress website centred on a searchable, filterable database with two distinct sections: published studies and clinical trials.
The published studies section covers research that has reported results, drawing on data extracted from journal articles, conference abstracts, and clinical trial registries. Because the nature and depth of available data varies across these three source types, each study page has been designed to accommodate that variation, presenting information in a structured tabbed format covering study eligibility criteria, interventions, participant information, adverse events, outcomes, and notes. Where a study meets defined quality thresholds, it is marked as a featured study, giving clinicians and families a clear indication of the most substantive evidence available.
The clinical trials section focuses on ongoing and completed research identified from public trial registries, with each entry displaying recruitment status, trial phase, eligible tumour types, age range, and location. Both sections are fully searchable and filterable across multiple criteria, including treatment type, tumour type, country, and phase, enabling users to find the studies most relevant to their situation quickly and without specialist knowledge.
Key statistics from the review are presented prominently on the homepage, giving visitors an immediate sense of the scale and ongoing value of the research. A dedicated glossary supports users with understanding complicated language in this area, and search results from both sections can be downloaded as a PDF, removing the need for users to create an account. The design balances clinical credibility with accessibility, reflecting the project’s commitment to reaching families as well as professionals, and is built to grow with each new update to the living systematic review.
The results
- A searchable research database covering over 37,000 reviewed studies 175 published studies with results, and 62 ongoing clinical trials.
- A flexible post structure that accommodates three distinct data source types within a consistent, readable format.
- A site architecture that serves families, clinicians, and researchers without compromising clarity or depth for any of them.
- A platform built to scale, with each update to the living systematic review reflected seamlessly on the site.
Castlegate IT have been a wonderful team to work with from start to finish – a friendly, responsive and knowledgeable team who have helped us to optimise the reporting of large datasets within our research field. We know that this website will make a big difference to the rhabdomyosarcoma community!
Visit: www.reforms-project.org.uk
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