Cancer Treatment Clinical Trial Activity in Victoria

On World Cancer Day 2021, Cancer Council Victoria released a new report, ‘Cancer treatment clinical trial activity in Victoria 2016-2018’.

The report shows an increase in the number of unique* cancer treatment clinical trials available in Victoria over the three-year period and encouragingly, more regional clinical trial participants enrolled in clinical trials in regional areas.

At a glance:

• 5215 cancer patients were newly recruited to a cancer treatment clinical trial in Victoria between 2016 and 2018.
• 95% of recruited patients were enrolled in trials in metropolitan health services.
• Blood and breast cancer trials recruited the highest number of patients, accounting for 50% over the 3-year period.
• Just over 70% of unique trials were commercially sponsored by a for-profit company.
• Recruitment for people aged 15-17 years more than tripled between 2016 and 2018.

The report contains some of the most recent data reported to Cancer Council Victoria’s Cancer Trials Management Scheme and will provide an important benchmark to measure the potential impact to recruitment, experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Cancer Trials Management Scheme (CTMS) was first introduced in 1988 by Cancer Council Victoria’s Clinical Network, with support from the Victorian Government. It was established with the aim of increasing overall participation in cancer clinical trials, monitored through the collection of Victorian site-specific data. Each year, participating trials units are asked to submit data about the number and type of clinical trials available at their unit, as well as the number of recruited patients, their year of birth and postcode of home address. Currently, these data are limited to cancer treatment clinical trials only.

You can read the report here.

*The term ‘unique clinical trials’ refers to trials that recruit at least one patient in a reporting year, not including duplicate counts of trials that are conducted across multiple units in Victoria.

In 2009, the CTMS was integrated with an online and mobile clinical trials search platform, called the Victorian Cancer Trials Link (VCTL). The VCTL is the base repository for the CTMS and trial units are encouraged to provide at least monthly updates to Cancer Council Victoria, about the status of trials available at their site. This information is added to the VCTL, providing access for patients and health professionals who may be searching for available clinical trials. The VCTL also contains links to general cancer information and support resources for people affected by cancer.

 Impact of COVID-19 on cancer clinical trials in Victoria

COVID-19 has had and continues to have a significant impact on the delivery of cancer clinical trials. This impact is concerning for patients, who may have limited standard treatment options outside of clinical trials.

In June 2020, Cancer Council Victoria, with the support of the Victorian Government, surveyed clinical trial units participating in the CTMS, to understand how clinical trials had been impacted by the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria (March-July, when the survey closed).

While the results of our survey highlight a disruptive impact to certain aspects of clinical trial operations and recruitment, there were positive side effects of the pandemic. The rapid uptake of telehealth, changes to ethics and governance procedures, and the use of remote monitoring and e-consent, will undoubtedly change how clinical trials are monitored and accessed in Victoria in years to come.

You can read more here.