Clinical Research Groups and Prioritised Trials

Last updated on 09/08/2011

In 2008, INCa created 9 clinical research groups (GRCs) tasked with participating in the development of clinical research actions. They play a vital role, particularly with respect to the organisation, planning and promotion of clinical cancer research in France. These groups select projects that will be considered priorities: the prioritised trials

Composition and functioning of clinical research groups

Each clinical research group is made up of a co-ordinator and 10 to 20 experts. The clinical research groups were designed to be representative of the specialities, institutional affiliations and administrative regions. Their members were also selected based on their research activities and the volume and quality of their scientific publications.
The clinical research groups meet four times a year and are formed for a period of 4 years. Each group has met at least once in 2008 and has drawn up its work programme. By way of example we can mention the preparation for forming the association of co-operative groups in the field of lymphoid haematology or participation in the design of the SIGNAL study. In 2008 these groups started working on symposiums which were held in 2009: ovarian cancer (April 2009), Prostate PAIR (July 2009). In 2010, a symposium was dedicated to melanoma (May 2010).

Objectives

The clinical research groups have the following objectives:

• Bringing about original, innovative and unifying clinical research projects, particularly those focusing on the development of new treatments as well as cancer prevention and early screening. Projects will be selected for funding in a competitive call for proposals. Studies addressing issues in cancer biology and health sociology and economics will also be funded.
• Proposing topics for annual calls for clinical research proposals (PHRC cancer)
• Playing a key role in co-ordinating major fields within oncology (the digestive system, haematology, breast cancer, lung cancer, etc.)
• Unifying clinical research teams (biologists, surgeons, radiologists, oncologists, etc.) to facilitate the implementation of co-operative trials on the one hand, particularly in translational research and on the other hand to boost international recognition of French cancer researchers. 
• Providing individual or collective responses, as experts, to questions pertaining to care, innovation, prevention and early diagnosis, at the request of INCa or healthcare or research authorities.
• Working in collaboration with INCa and international institutions such as NCI (United States), NCRI (United Kingdom) and DKFZ (Germany) with regard to interaction with the pharmaceutical industry in order to facilitate access to new drugs. In the case of NCI, the objective is to strengthen our partnership so that French patients can be included in clinical trials sponsored by NCI or INCa, even when testing drugs outside of the pharmaceutical groups' development plans.
• Providing quality certification for clinical trials to be integrated into INCa's clinical trial register. This will ensure that healthcare professionals, researchers and patients have access to reliable information and will also increase patient participation in clinical trials.

Prioritised Trials

Prioritised trials are considered to have priority for the work of the Mobile Clinical Research Teams (EMRCs) (add link). The clinical research groups (GRCs) evaluated them based on a common methodology and produced a list of almost 230 prioritised academic clinical trials (19 March 2010).
The trials funded as part of the national cancer PHRC were not subject to a second review.  They are listed with the same status as those prioritised by the clinical research groups.