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OCR for page 105
B
Executive Summary of
A National Cancer Clinical Trials
System for the 21st Century
Advances in biomedical research are yielding significant opportunities to
improve cancer prevention, detection, and treatment. However, the ability
to translate biomedical discoveries into meaningful advances in cancer care
depends on an effective clinical trials system. Publicly funded clinical trials
play a vital role by addressing questions that are important to patients but are
less likely to be top priorities of industry, which has an important primary
focus on new drug development and Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
registration. For example, companies may have less incentive to
-
ment options that are already approved for clinical use,
clinical use,
devices in combination with drugs,
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) supports the largest U.S. network
for clinical trials of any type. The largest component of that network is the
105
OCR for page 106
106 IMPLEMENTING A NATIONAL CANCER CLINICAL TRIALS SYSTEM
Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program, which comprises 10 Groups
that involve more than 3,100 institutions and 14,000 investigators who
enroll more than 25,000 patients in clinical trials each year. The results of
Cooperative Group trials have steadily improved the care of patients with
cancer in the United States and worldwide for more than 50 years.
One of the Program’s strengths is the extensive involvement of physi-
cians and patients from the community setting. Participation by the diverse
patient populations treated in the community setting helps to ensure that
the results of clinical trials are meaningful to a broad segment of the U.S.
population and provides these patients with access to promising, innovative
therapies as they are developed and tested. The clinical trials conducted by
the Cooperative Groups also provide a valuable mechanism for the training
of clinical investigators.
However, despite these important contributions and a long record of
accomplishments, the Cooperative Group Program is at a critical juncture.
Numerous challenges threaten its ability to conduct the timely, large-scale,
innovative clinical trials needed to improve patient care. With many itera-
tive layers of oversight, the complex trials system has become inefficient
and cumbersome. The average time required to design, approve, and acti-
vate a trial is 2 years and many of the trials undertaken are not completed.
Furthermore, since 2002 funding for the Cooperative Group Program has
decreased by 20 percent, whereas new knowledge of the molecular changes
underpinning cancer and the use of predictive biomarkers in cancer therapy
not only increase the potential impact of trials but also add to their com-
plexity and cost.
The director of NCI asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to con-
duct a consensus study of cancer clinical trials and the Cooperative Group
Program and to develop recommendations on how to improve the system.
To address the charge, the IOM appointed a 17-member committee with a
broad range of expertise and experience.
The committee concluded that a robust, standing cancer clinical trials
network is essential to effectively translate discoveries into clinical benefits
for patients. There are hundreds of cancer therapies in development and a
continuous need for design and implementation of new clinical trials, so it
would be highly inefficient to fund and develop infrastructures and research
teams separately for each new trial. Thus, it is imperative to preserve and
strengthen the unique capabilities of the Cooperative Group Program as a
vital component in NCI’s translational continuum.
OCR for page 107
107
APPENDIX B
However, the current structure and processes of the entire clinical trials
system need to be redesigned to improve value by reducing redundancy and
improving the effectiveness and efficiency of trials. Numerous changes are
needed, including an evaluation and justification of the unique contribu-
tion of each Cooperative Group and a shift in the primary focus of NCI
from oversight to the facilitation of Cooperative Group trials. The Program
needs to move beyond cooperation to integration, which can be achieved by
reorganizing clinical trial structures and operations in a truly national trials
network. The revised system must also be sufficiently funded to enable the
rapid completion of well-designed, high-priority trials. In addition, gov-
ernment agencies need to streamline and coordinate the oversight process,
with parallel, concurrent, or ideally, joint reviews to the extent possible. In
sum, the academic, government, and commercial sectors must join with the
public to develop a 21st-century multidisciplinary clinical trials system to
more effectively leverage scientific advancements and translate them into
public health benefits by improving the science; technology; efficiency; and
timely creation, launch, and completion of the highest-priority cancer clini-
cal trials. With adequate funds and support, a more effective and efficient
clinical trials system will speed the pace of advances in cancer patient care.
On the basis of a review of the available published literature, along with
input from experts in the field and interested individuals, the committee’s
recommendations (Box ES-1) focused on four broad goals to enhance the
value of national Cooperative Group clinical trials in cancer:
Consolidation and Efficiency. Improve the efficiency and reduce
the average time for the design and launch of innovative clinical trials by
consolidating functions, committees, and Cooperative Groups; stream-
lining oversight processes; facilitating collaboration; and streamlining and
standardizing data collection and analysis.
Science. Incorporate innovation in science and trial design, for exam-
ple, in studies identifying biomarkers that can predict therapeutic response.
Funding and Support. Adequately support those clinical trials that
have the greatest possibility of improving survival and the quality of life
for cancer patients, and increase the rate of clinical trial completion and
publication.
Participation. Incentivize the participation of patients and physicians
in clinical trials by providing adequate funds to cover the costs of research
and by reimbursing the costs of standard patient care during the trial.
OCR for page 108
108 IMPLEMENTING A NATIONAL CANCER CLINICAL TRIALS SYSTEM
BOX ES-1
Summary of the Committee’s Goals and
Recommendations
Goal I. Improve the speed and efficiency of the design, launch,
and conduct of clinical trials
1. Review and consolidate some front office operationsa of
the Cooperative Groups on the basis of peer review
2. Consolidate back office operations of the Cooperative
Groups and improve processesb
3. Streamline and harmonize government oversight
4. Improve collaboration among stakeholders
Goal II. Incorporate innovative science and trial design into
cancer clinical trials
5. Support and use biorepositories
6. Develop and evaluate novel trial designs
7. Develop standards for new technologies
Goal III. Improve the means of prioritization, selection, support,
and completion of cancer clinical trials
8. Reevaluate the role of NCI in the clinical trials system
9. Increase the accrual volume, diversity, and speed of clini-
cal trials
10. Increase funding for the Cooperative Group Program
Goal IV. Incentivize the participation of patients and physicians
in clinical trials
11. Support clinical investigators
12. Cover the cost of patient care in clinical trials
a Front office operations refer primarily to the Cooperative Group scientific
committees and statistical offices, which are responsible for activities such
as trial design, prioritization, and data analysis.
b Back office operations refer to administrative structures and activities that
include such things as data collection and management, data queries and
reviews, patient registration, audit functions, case report form processing,
image storage and retrieval, drug distribution, credentialing of sites, and
funding and reimbursement for patient accrual.
