Ontario Institute for Cancer Research selected as coordinating centre for Canadian cancer clinical trials

TORONTO, April 25, 2013 /CNW/ - Dr. Nicole Onetto, Deputy Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), today announced that OICR has been selected by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) to develop the coordinating centre for the Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials Network (CCCTN). Dr. Janet Dancey, OICR's Director of the High Impact Clinical Trials Program, will be the Scientific Director and lead the CCCTN coordinating centre. The collaborating organizations are the NCIC Clinical Trials Group and N2 (Network of Networks).

The pan-Canadian Network was established following a competitive application process adjudicated by an international panel. It will improve the efficiency and quality of clinical trials by providing coordination and support for a network of clinical trial teams at cancer treatment centres and hospitals across Canada. The support for clinical trial conduct will include ethics, regulatory, biospecimen collection and analyses, and knowledge transfer.

The Network will improve the lives of cancer patients and individuals at risk for cancer. It will build on and help support the activities associated with clinical trials expertise already existing in the country. The result will be an increase in the clinical research capacity of Canadian cancer centres to effectively conduct cancer clinical trials sponsored by academic institutions or cooperative clinical trials groups that will address questions of greatest importance to Canadians and the Canadian health care system.

"The benefits for cancer patients and Canadians at risk for cancer will be enhanced treatment options and access to the most innovative therapies," said Dr. Dancey. "The Network will improve the cancer treatment environment by helping move new approaches into the clinic sooner and allowing patients to play a more active role in setting research priorities for clinical cancer research."

"The Coordinating Centre will link to and build upon the strengths of Canada's existing clinical trials groups," says Dr. Heather Bryant, Vice-President of Cancer Control at the Partnership. "Supporting existing clinical trial centres in a coordinated network would provide the opportunity for more patients to take part in leading edge research studies."

The coordinating centre will serve as the administrative hub of the CCCTN. The Network will develop and implement common tools and resources that will improve the quality of clinical trials and facilitate their timely execution. Providing support for personnel in treatment centres and hospitals in the network will make it possible to conduct more trials. It is expected that the number of cancer clinical trials in Canada and the number of patients enrolled will increase as a result of the activities of the CCCTN.

About OICR
OICR is an innovative cancer research and development institute dedicated to prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The Institute is an independent, not-for-profit corporation, supported by the Government of Ontario. The annual budget for OICR, its research partners and collaborators exceeds $150 million. This supports more than 1,600 investigators, clinician scientists, research staff and trainees located at its headquarters and in research institutes and academia across the Province of Ontario. OICR has key research efforts underway in small molecules, biologics, stem cells, imaging, genomics, informatics and bio-computing. For more information, please visit the website at www.oicr.on.ca.

About CPAC
The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer works with Canada's cancer community to reduce the burden of cancer on Canadians. Grounded in and informed by the experiences of those affected by cancer, the organization works with partners to support multi-jurisdictional uptake of evidence that will help to optimize cancer control planning and drive improvements in quality of practice across the country. Through sustained effort and a focus on the cancer continuum, the Partnership supports the work of the collective cancer community in achieving long-term population outcomes: reduced incidence of cancer, less likelihood of Canadians dying from cancer and an enhanced quality of life of those affected by cancer. For more information, please visit the website at www.partnershipagainstcancer.ca.

About NCIC Clinical Trials Group
The NCIC Clinical Trials Group is an academic cancer clinical trials cooperative group which carries out clinical trials in cancer therapy, supportive care and prevention across Canada and internationally. It is one of the national programmes and networks of the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute (CCSRI), and is supported by the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS). For more information please visit the website at www.ctg.queensu.ca.

About N2
The Network of Networks (N2) is a not-for-profit incorporated organization and an alliance of Canadian research networks and organizations working to enhance national clinical research capability and capacity. Bringing together trialists and clinical research professionals from across the country, N2 provides a common platform for sharing best practices, resources and research-related content to ensure efficient and high-quality research, integrity of clinical practices and accountability. The organization is truly representative of clinical research in Canada and acts as a national voice and advocate on behalf of a broad range of stakeholders that have an impact on the efficiency and quality of clinical trials conducted in Canada. For more information please visit http://n2canada.ca/.

SOURCE: Ontario Institute for Cancer Research

Michael Giardino
Communications Officer
Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
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