Ahead of International Clinical Trials Day on May 20, Cancer Trials Ireland is mounting a ‘Just Ask’ campaign, urging people with cancer undergoing treatment to ‘just ask’ their doctors of the clinical trial options open to them.
With over 24,000 people newly diagnosed with cancer each year in Ireland, Cancer Trials Ireland is dedicated to finding new ways to prevent, find and treat cancer. It currently has over 110 trials open and recruiting new patients.
The charity is hosting an information webinar on Tuesday May 20 from 2.30-3.30pm offering an overview of trials here, how they work and how to access them. The session will feature the perspectives of both cancer researchers and patients, with contributions from Prof Gerry Hanna, Vice Clinical Lead, Cancer Trials Ireland, Dr Claire Kilty, Head of Research at the Irish Cancer Society, and patient advocate Jed van de Poll. Broadcaster and former GP, Ciara Kelly, will host the webinar which is free of charge to members of the public — to register, visit www.cancertrials.ie/JustAsk.
For Prof Hanna, Vice Clinical Lead at Cancer Trials Ireland, the ambition is to achieve an up to 75 per cent five-year survival rate for people diagnosed with cancer within the next decade: “We’re seeking to constantly improve outcomes for people with cancer and we’ve gone from 25 per cent of people being alive five years after a cancer diagnosis 30 years ago, to now over 50 per cent. We want to get that figure up to 75 per cent in the next 10 years and one of the ways that we can do this is through clinical trials in finding the next generation of treatments that will improve outcomes for people with cancer. The intention with a prospective trial treatment received by patients is that it should be at least as good as the standard of care and hopefully better.
“We also know that in hospitals that run clinical trials, the outcomes are generally better, even for those patients who are not taking part in the trial, as the quality of clinical care improves for everyone. With this campaign, I would encourage any person going through cancer treatment to ‘just ask’ their doctor if there is a cancer trial currently available that would be suitable for them.”
When it comes to the latest attitudes of members of the public to clinical trials, a survey conducted by Cancer Trials Ireland in July last year yielded some very interesting findings:
- Approximately one-in-five (18 per cent) either know of someone who has taken part in a clinical trial, or have taken part themselves, while three-in-five (62 per cent) would be willing to take part in one.
- Seven-in-10 (70 per cent) would take part in a trial to potentially help others get better treatment for their health issues in the future, while almost four in ten (38 per cent) would do it to have a longer life, and approximately one-third would sign up to access a new treatment before it’s widely available (32 per cent), or tocure their disease (30 per cent).
- Over half (53 per cent) would get involved in a trial to improve their health and wellbeing, with two-in-five would like to have a more active role in their healthcare if ill (44 per cent), or to access medical care and more frequent health checks as part of treatment (40 per cent).
Interestingly, three-in-four of those surveyed (77 per cent) know someone who has had cancer, or have had cancer themselves.
For more information on the work of Cancer Trials Ireland, visit www.cancertrials.ie, or call the Irish Cancer Society’s Cancer Nurseline on Freephone 1800 200 700. Cancer Trials Ireland is partly funded by the Health Research Board and the Irish Cancer Society.
