Clinical Trials

A major goal of the Consortium is to strengthen the capacity for cancer centers in Ireland and Northern Ireland to conduct cancer clinical trials, and thus improve patients' access to new therapies. Towards this end, the Clinical Trials Working Group (CT WG) collaborates to facilitate with hospitals and academic institutions to expand clinical trials programs on the island of Ireland. Because of the relatively small population on the island-approximately 5.4 million people-it is essential that Ireland and Northern Ireland collaborate with one another and internationally in order to create a sufficiently large pool of clinical trials participants.

In 2003, the CT WG participated in the establishment of the All Ireland Cooperative Oncology Research Group; a network modeled after the U.S. NCI Cooperative Clinical Trials Group that aims to initiate and co-ordinate clinical trials in cancer hospitals on the island of Ireland. The All Ireland Cooperative Oncology Research Group is comprised of several major hospitals in Ireland and the Cancer Research Centre at Belfast City Hospital Cancer centers with the capability to participate in clinical trials form the membership of the all-island cooperative group. The Irish Clinical Oncology Research Group in Dublin and the Clinical Research Support Centre in Belfast act as the headquarters for the network. The cooperative group is jointly funded by the Health Research Board in Dublin and the Research and Development Office in Belfast.

The Health Research Board and the Research and Development Office also award individual funding to hospitals on the island of Ireland to develop clinical trials centers within their respective hospital. Recipients in Ireland have included: Mater Misericordiae Hospital, St. James's Hospital, Beaumont Hospital, St. Vincent's University Hospital, and St. Luke's Hospital in Dublin; University College Hospital, Galway; and Cork University Hospital. Planning grants were awarded to Limerick Regional Hospital; The Adelaide and Meath, incorporating the National Children's Hospital Tallaght; and Waterford Regional Hospital. Likewise, the Research and Development Office provided funds to Belfast City Hospital to support the Northern Ireland Cancer Clinical Trials Unit (NICCTU).

Annual competitions among cancer centers on the island of Ireland determine funding awards that support staffing, training, and technical capability to conduct and/or continue clinical trials. The awards are a major step toward ensuring high-quality treatment for cancer patients and represent the first public funding for clinical trials in hospitals on the island of Ireland.

Dr. Anne Cody, Head of Unit Research Infrastructure and Special Initiatives, Health Research Board, Dublin, is the chair of the CT WG.

CT WG Objectives

• To strengthen the capacity for island cancer centers to conduct cancer clinical trials.
• To improve patients' access to new therapies.
• To facilitate the expansion of clinical trials programs and infrastructure on the island.
• To encourage collaboration on the island and internationally to create a sufficiently large clinical trials participant pool on the island.
• To collaborate with the NCI to facilitate the training of oncology nurses in the area of clinical trials management and clinical patient care.