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Cancer specialty: key stakeholders

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Published: 10 July 2020

Version: 1.0 - 10 July 2020

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Working closely with key stakeholders, the NIHR Clinical Research Network (CRN) Cancer Specialty has been enormously successful in integrating clinical research into NHS clinical service provision, and both developing and delivering a large practice changing portfolio of clinical trials. We have achieved this level of performance through our ‘whole system’ approach:

  • Establishing clinical research as an integral part of optimal cancer care across the country
  • Working closely with Clinical Studies Groups who are involved in the development of high quality research proposals
  • Engaging with the life sciences industry
  • Developing collaborations between academic investigators, clinicians and the life sciences industry, giving NHS patients access to new agents that may improve outcomes.

Our key stakeholders include:

Cancer Research UK (CRUK)

CRUK is the world's largest publicly funded independent cancer research charity and is a key partner involved in a number of NIHR cancer initiatives. It funds research into every aspect of the disease and treatment pathway including the prevention, and diagnosis as well as different treatment modalities.

European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)

The EORTC is an international research organisation based in Brussels, Belgium which aims to develop, conduct, coordinate, and stimulate laboratory and clinical research in Europe, to improve survival and quality of life for cancer patients. EORTC is establishing a network of Liaison Offices to promote and facilitate collaboration between clinical cancer research groups across Europe. Liaison offices exist in Sweden, France and the UK.

The UK-based EORTC Liaison Office is supported by the CRN and Cancer Research UK. The office helps coordinate collaborative cancer clinical research between the UK and other international cancer research organisations, with a particular focus on that conducted by the EORTC.

National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI)

The CRN works in close collaboration with the NCRI Research Groups to help develop, design and deliver studies.

Linking with other stakeholders in surgical trials

The CRN regularly links with stakeholders such as Cancer Research UK (CRUK), Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSEng), National Surgical Research Collaboratives, the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) and Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs) to foster joint initiatives to promote trials in surgical oncology.

Following on from the 2012 NCRI Report, the NCRI jointly led a new surgical oncology initiative with the RCSEng ‘Future of Surgery’. The published report highlights areas for future trial development as well as methodological issues common to surgical oncology.

The Surgical Research Steering Committee committee meets three times per year to foster communication between the RCSEng Future of Surgery initiative, the NCRI and the CRN.