Strategic partnership doubles cancer trials available to Manchester patients
In April, Manchester patients had access to twice as many cancer trials*, as a result of a new strategic partnership across five CRUK Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs). This figure is likely to further increase as a result of the TARGET trial.
CRUK ECMCs in Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and Belfast are working together to offer patients across the “ECMC North” geography the opportunity to take part in open clinical trials within traveling distance.
A key goal for the TARGET trial in the next 6 months is to appraise commercially available software, which could increase the number of clinical trials available through matching the molecular trial data to all cancer trials worldwide.
As part of a collaboration between The Christie and Roche, the group has been conducting a head-to-head study of the FoundationONE test against in-house molecular profiling. These projects are nearing completion and the tests are already improving the ability to assign patients to the right clinical trials.
Roche Products Limited is the sole licensed UK distributor of the Foundation One test, which profiles 315 genes on biopsy material. The Christie is the first UK site to pilot embedding these tests into the NHS.
*Compared with the previous month where Manchester patients only had visibility of trial options at The Christie