Aiming to speed up cancer research

An initiative to give people with cancer the opportunity to take part in innovative clinical trials closer to home has been announced by The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and clinical trial patient recruitment company, Innovative Trials.

The aim is to help speed up research so that effective new treatments come to market faster.

The project will initially concentrate on raising awareness of clinical research among breast cancer patients living in or around Oldham, Wigan, Wythenshawe, Preston, Macclesfield and Stoke-on-Trent.

It will also focus on increasing clinical trial participation among patients from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

These groups are not traditionally well represented in research due to issues such as cultural barriers and lack of knowledge of clinical trials.

However, without diverse patient representation, it can be difficult to assess the effectiveness of treatments for different groups of people.

To make it easier for patients to get involved, they will be able to participate in clinical trials and access those treatments in local Christie cancer centres rather than travelling to the Trust’s main site in Manchester. 

Penny Morrison, patient recruitment strategy director for Innovative Trials, said: “One of the most common challenges with clinical trials is finding enough eligible patients to take part.

"Part of the problem is that general awareness of clinical research — why it is important and what it involves — and clinical trial opportunities is low.

"Another challenge is patient diversity. Not all patients respond to medical treatments in the same way, which means a lack of diversity limits opportunities to test the safety and effectiveness of new treatments in the widest range of patients.

“We are therefore delighted to be working alongside The Christie, one of the UK’s leading cancer centres, to tackle these issues.

"It is an exciting step towards changing the landscape for clinical trial participation, making them easier to access for more diverse population groups and increasing participation overall.”

Clinical trials are an essential part of the drug development process.

Every new treatment must be tested thoroughly to ensure they are safe and effective before they can be licensed and made widely available.

Trials that do not recruit or retain enough participants are at risk of failing, which leads to delays in treatments coming to market. 

Innovative Trials will use its expertise to interact with local communities and healthcare professionals to identify and engage with appropriate patients.

The company will create bespoke and culturally appropriate materials designed to educate prospective clinical trial participants and ensure they are fully informed.

Once patients are enrolled in a clinical trial, the company will work with research teams to make sure patients do not drop out.

This initiative to increase opportunities for patients to participate in and benefit from clinical research forms part of Innovative Trials’ drive in its 10th anniversary year to raise public awareness of clinical research and make clinical trials more accessible to more people.

It also supports NHS England’s Five Year Forward View of accelerating health innovation and new ways of delivering care. 

The Christie’s overall outreach project to provide more localised care is in collaboration with the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), Clinical Research Network (CRN) Greater Manchester. 

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