Clinical Trials MCP Server

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/index.ts:1624-1701 (handler)

  The handler implementation for the 'search_rare_diseases' tool, which searches for rare diseases using the ClinicalTrials.gov API.

  private async handleSearchRareDiseases(args: any) {
    if (!args?.rareDisease) {
      throw new McpError(
        ErrorCode.InvalidParams,
        "Rare disease parameter is required"
      );
    }
  
    const params: any = {
      format: "json",
      pageSize: args?.pageSize || 10,
      "query.cond": args.rareDisease,
    };
  
    if (args?.recruitmentStatus) {
      params["filter.overallStatus"] = args.recruitmentStatus;
    }
  
    // Add terms commonly associated with rare diseases
    params["query.term"] = `${args.rareDisease} OR orphan OR rare`;
  
    try {
      const response: AxiosResponse<StudySearchResponse> =
        await this.axiosInstance.get("/studies", { params });
  
      const studies = response.data.studies || [];
      const results = studies.map((study) => ({
        ...this.formatStudySummary(study),
        conditions: study.protocolSection.conditionsModule?.conditions || [],
        eligibility: {
          sex: study.protocolSection.eligibilityModule?.sex || "Unknown",
          minimumAge:
            study.protocolSection.eligibilityModule?.minimumAge ||
            "Not specified",
          maximumAge:
            study.protocolSection.eligibilityModule?.maximumAge ||
            "Not specified",
        },
      }));
  
      return {
        content: [
          {
            type: "text",
            text: JSON.stringify(
              {
                searchCriteria: {
                  rareDisease: args.rareDisease,
                  recruitmentStatus: args?.recruitmentStatus,
                  searchNote: "Includes orphan and rare disease designations",
                },
                totalCount: response.data.totalCount || 0,
                resultsShown: results.length,
                studies: results,
              },
              null,
              2
            ),
          },
        ],
      };
    } catch (error) {
      if (axios.isAxiosError(error)) {
        return {
          content: [
            {
              type: "text",
              text: `Clinical Trials API error: ${
                error.response?.data?.message || error.message
              }`,
            },
          ],
          isError: true,
        };
      }
      throw error;
    }
  }

• src/index.ts:469-495 (registration)

  Tool registration for 'search_rare_diseases' in the list of available tools.

    name: "search_rare_diseases",
    description:
      "Search clinical trials for rare diseases and orphan conditions",
    inputSchema: {
      type: "object",
      properties: {
        rareDisease: {
          type: "string",
          description: "Rare disease or orphan condition name",
          minLength: 2,
        },
        recruitmentStatus: {
          type: "string",
          description: "Filter by recruitment status",
          enum: ["RECRUITING", "NOT_YET_RECRUITING", "COMPLETED"],
        },
        pageSize: {
          type: "number",
          description:
            "Number of results to return (default 10, max 100)",
          minimum: 1,
          maximum: 100,
        },
      },
      required: ["rareDisease"],
    },
  },