A single clinical trial now tests multiple new cancer treatments at once, cutting the time needed to evaluate which ones work best. This matters because cancer is becoming more common worldwide, with 70% of cancers and 80% of cancer deaths projected to occur in low- and middle-income countries by 2020. The project focuses on making cancer care more affordable and effective, testing drugs already approved for other diseases (repurposing), and finding whether radiotherapy, surgery, and existing scans can be used in more efficient ways. It also examines whether newer immuno-oncology drugs can be given for shorter periods with the same benefits and fewer side effects. If successful, the trials could lead to cheaper, less toxic treatments that become standard care for patients. The work also builds research capacity in countries that currently lack the infrastructure to run their own clinical trials, training local principal investigators and collecting biological samples to deepen understanding of cancer biology.
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Our aim is to reduce cancer deaths and the side effects associated with cancer treatments. We design clinical trials and other research studies that test several new approaches at the same time. This speeds up the evaluation of new therapies. Cancer is becoming more common, especially in low and middle income countries (LMICs) where it is estimated that 70% of cancers and 80% of cancer deaths will occur in 2020. We focus on the need for more affordable and effective cancer treatments. This is also important for high income countries. We test drugs that are already used for another disease. This is called repurposing. We also test whether radiotherapy, surgery and existing scanning techniques can be used in different and more efficient ways to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. We will also test whether newer drugs (immuno–oncology) can be given for shorter periods of time with the same benefits and less side effects. In the future we will work on: a) cancers that are common and cause many deaths in LMICs; b) cancers that are less common which makes it difficult to run clinical trials; and c) studies to prevent cancer. Running a clinical trial in these areas can be challenging and not many research groups work in these areas. The impact of our work is recognised if the treatments we assess are recommended for patients by doctors because of our trials. Further impacts are to help increase research visibility and capacity in LMICs, including for example heling to develop Principal Investigators in countries. We also collect biological samples from trial participants and scientists evaluate them to increase our understanding of cancer.
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