Irish Cancer Patients Are Amongst First in World to Receive Newest Cancer Drugs Thanks to Clinical Trials

The importance of access to clinical trials for cancer patients in Ireland was highlighted today at the launch of Cancer Week Ireland 2015 jointly organised by the Irish Cancer Society and Trinity College Dublin.

It aims to highlight the issue of cancer and how more people are surviving the disease in a week long programme of events. It will also have a particular focus on how clinical trials and cancer research are making a real difference.

According to the most recent figure from the Irish Clinical Oncology Research Group (ICORG), currently 10% of Irish patients diagnosed with cancer were enrolled on an ICORG sponsored study in 16 hospital sites across the country. Of these, just over 3% are involved in drug trials where they receive access to new drugs. Research carried out this year by ICORG demonstrated that 50% of patients sign up for clinical trials because they believe they will receive the best possible medicine, while 46% choose clinical trials because they want to help others in the future.

Eibhlín Mulroe, CEO of ICORG, said: “By highlighting the benefits of clinical trials during Cancer Week, we hope to grow the number of patients enrolled on clinical trials across the country. Participating in clinical trials is not something to fear and there are a number of benefits such as being able to access the latest treatments. We would like to encourage anyone who is newly diagnosed or currently receiving treatment for cancer to ask their consultant oncologist about clinical trials that might be available to them.”

Speaking about the importance of cancer research and clinical trials, Head of Research at the Irish Cancer Society, Dr Robert O’Connor, said: “We cannot have clinical trials without first having the research. To ensure that more patients can avail of clinical trials here in Ireland into the future, we need more research and more studies and we need to support those tirelessly working at the coalface of cancer research. We need to support our scientists, researchers, nurses, and consultants, and the network they belong to - ICORG, who are delivering real results and improving the lives of many patients. This is essential if we are to build a sustainable culture of cancer research and clinical trials in Ireland and have the standard of treatment we want when cancer strikes us or those we care most for.”

Professor John Reynolds, Professor of Surgery at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Medicine & consultant at St James’s Hospital, said: “Cancer clinical trials are key to establishing new methods to prevent, detect and treat cancer. The evidence-base underpinning most of what we do in cancer is established through large randomised clinical trials, where an existing standard of care is compared with a new treatment approach, with cancer survival being the usual outcome measured. The majority of trials are clinical, but an increasing proportion are ‘translational’, linking day to day patient care with advances from laboratory science undertaken by Trinity College Dublin and other major universities and through international collaboration. Cancer Week will highlight the importance of trials, the current situation in Ireland and reasonable goals for the future, and how we should aspire to increase the culture of clinical trials among both the public and the professionals who deliver cancer care.”

Regius Professor of Physic & Professor of Haematology, Owen Smith, at Trinity’s School of Medicine and Consultant Paediatric Haematologist at Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin said: “The progress that has been made in the treatment of childhood cancer has been a remarkable success story. From being an almost lethal disease 40- 50 years ago, more than 80% of children with cancer are now being cured. This progress has been the result of basic research and the testing of new knowledge through multi-institutional and multi-national randomised peer-reviewed clinical trials”.

“The commonest cancer in children, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) has become the ‘poster child’ for cancer cure in childhood – approximately 94% overall survival in our most recent ALL prospective randomised peer-reviewed clinical trial (UKALL 2003).”

During Cancer Week Ireland a number of events will hear from doctors involved in clinical trials, scientists working at the coalface of cancer research, and also about the potential for new cancer drug discoveries and treatments.

Trinity College Dublin will host a day-long symposium dedicated to cancer drug discoveries on Tuesday, September 15th and a public ‘Open House’ event focussing on clinical trials and the patient’s journey on Wednesday, September 16th.

Events will also mark ‘World Lymphoma Awareness Day’ on Tuesday, 15th September and ‘Mouth Cancer Awareness Day’ on Wednesday, 16th September and, with a strong emphasis on survivorship, Cancer Week Ireland will also hear how more people are living well with, and beyond, cancer during a two-day ‘Living Well with Cancer’ patient conference hosted by the Irish Cancer Society at the Aviva Stadium on Friday and Saturday 18th & 19th September.

Full details of programme events and activities can be found on www.cancerweek.ie.