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By Anne Craig, Communications Officer

The NCIC Clinical Trials Group (CTG) at Queen’s University has been awarded $15 million in funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health through the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) to strengthen its work leading major cancer clinical trials in Canada. The funding allows the NCIC CTG to increase its collaborations with the U.S. NCI and its National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN).

This funding from the NCI will give Canadian cancer patients access to cutting-edge international clinical trials, potentially helping to prolong and improve the quality of life of those living with cancer. It also allows NCIC CTG to open its trials to the U.S. groups.

Earlier this month Dr. Eisenhauer greeted cyclists from the 7 Days in May event. All money raised from the ride was donated to NCIC CTG.

“This funding will really increase North American collaboration in clinical cancer research,” says Elizabeth Eisenhauer, Interim Director of NCIC CTG. “This funding means so much to cancer patients in North America. New drug testing opportunities will help us win the fight against this terrible disease.”

The NCIC CTG began collaborating with U.S.-based groups in the 1990s and has successfully obtained funding from the NCI since 1997. That initial grant was the first step in facilitating a long-lasting relationship with other American cancer clinical trials groups.

NCIC CTG is the only Canadian co-operative cancer trials group conducting the entire range of cancer trials, from early phase studies to large international randomized controlled trials across all cancer types. Its success is due not only to the expertise found in the Central Operations and Statistics Office based at Queen’s, but also to the hundreds of clinical investigators in 84 cancer centres and hospitals across Canada that are part of the NCIC CTG network. These investigators work with Queen’s faculty to generate the ideas for trials and enroll many hundreds of patients annually into NCIC CTG studies.

The NCIC Clinical Trials Group (NCIC CTG) is a cancer clinical trials cooperative group that conducts Phase I-III trials testing anti-cancer and supportive therapies across Canada and internationally. It is a national research program of the Canadian Cancer Society. The NCIC CTG's Central Operations and Statistics Office is located at Queen’s.