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EORTC AISBL / IVZW |
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EORTC AISBL / IVZW |
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is the leading US agency for cancer research and treatment in the United States and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NCI was established by the US Congress in 1937 and its programs were intensified in 1971 after passage of the National Cancer Act. The vast majority of NCI funds (80%) go to grants and contracts to universities, medical schools, cancer centers, research laboratories, and private firms. The NCI supports scientists all over the world in a broad spectrum of research activities.
European-NCI Collaborative Activities
A history of more than three decades of coordinated cancer treatment research between the EORTC and the NCI has brought great opportunities for more efficient development of new cancer therapeutics.
As part of the NCI’s global strategy, the NCI Liaison Office in Brussels was created in 1972 to search for potential new anticancer substances from European sources. The Office expanded quickly and has been pivotal in moving Europe and North America closer to a common linked network.
A European Collaborative Program initiated with the EORTC in the early 1970’s continues to be highly successful in promoting the exchange of information on new drugs for both pre-clinical and clinical evaluation. The compound acquisition, selection, screening, formulation, toxicology, and the clinical evaluation are now well integrated between Europe and the USA. Much of this success in new drug development has been facilitated by the close working relationship between the NCI, the EORTC, and the British Cancer Research United Kingdom (CRUK) in London.
European Collaborative Agreements
Collaborative Agreements signed between the NCI, EORTC, and CRUK define the role of each organization in the clinical development of new anticancer drugs. This expanded international collaboration also includes the exchange of information and new drug candidates of mutual interest at all stages of pre-clinical and clinical evaluation.
High priority drug candidates may, by mutual agreement, be assigned to any appropriate CRUK, EORTC, SENDO or NCI laboratory or clinic that can help with or carry out a necessary step in the development of the agent. Drugs are now developed in such a way that they may enter clinical trials on either side of the Atlantic. Initial clinical trials are conducted according to mutually-agreed protocols and in compliance with appropriate standards for the testing of experimental agents, so as to facilitate the acceptability of data by the appropriate regulatory authorities. Based on the current stateof-
the-art, joint guidelines on pre-clinical toxicology are made available and updated as necessary.
In 2004, the NCI developed new regulatory guidelines with the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) on the conduct, development and analysis of clinical trials with international collaborating institutions. Multiple joint protocols involving EORTC and NCI-sponsored Cooperative Groups are currently in progress. EORTC and NCI staffs are working closely to harmonize pharmacovigilance, data collection, and quality assurance.
The NCI Liaison Office (NCILO)
The NCI Liaison Office (NCILO) in Brussels, Belgium, situated adjacent to EORTC Headquarters, is part of the Office of International Affairs, NCI, and is an integral part of the NCI. Its role is to act as a European-based link to NCI cancer research and treatment programs in the United States. It facilitates the interchange of information, ideas, experimental drugs, scientific expertise, and scientists between Europe and the US NCI. It works in collaboration with the EORTC and CRUK as well as with other European cancer research institutes and pharmaceutical/chemical industries. Its role is to help create a network of cancer experts and cancer centers between Europe and the US NCI which work towards a common goal, to enable rapid progress in cancer research on an international scale.
The Office also assists other NCI divisions and programs with their European activities. Furthermore, it collects European cancer research protocols for the NCI International Cancer Research Data Bank Branch, Office of Communications and Education, NCI, for inclusion in NCI’s clinical database PDQ (Physician Data Query/Cancer Net ®). PDQ is a database which contains information on cancer treatment research. PDQ allows investigators to have access to both ongoing US and European protocols. In addition to the clinical studies under EORTC auspices, the inclusion of investigational protocols was extended to national groups in the early 1990s. These include protocols from e.g. CRUK, MRC, SCTN and SIOP from the UK, NKB from the Netherlands, SAKK from Switzerland, the German Cancer Society, FNCLCC from France, and from many other national groups. The NCI Liaison office actively seeks new European groups with an interest to submit their research protocols to PDQ.
The clinical trials database may be accessed via http://www.cancer.gov.
NCI Liaison Office and the International Network For Cancer Research and Treatment (INCTR)
The NCI LO collaborates with the International Network for Cancer Research and Treatment (INCTR), a unique organization dedicated to helping patients in developing countries, which is also located in Brussels and partially supported by the NCI’s Office of International Affairs.
Telesynergy® Medical Consultation Workstation
The NCI Liaison Office is the European hub for NCI’s TELESYNERGY® Medical Consultation WorkStation. The Telesynergy® Workstation allows numerous research collaborators at greatly separated geographic sites to interact as if they were in the same room, viewing the same medical images. By integrating powerful telecommunications technology into healthcare research and delivery, telemedicine enables clinical researchers to simultaneously communicate and view and manipulate data necessary for collaborations, including patient diagnosis and care, such as x-ray films and pathology samples. The telemedicine system has high quality, multi-site teleconferencing capabilities, and is also capable of transmitting most types of diagnostic-quality medical images and information from several different sources, such as a microscope, a patient examination camera, document camera, color video printer, DVD player/recorder, and PC applications.
By making the knowledge and experience of oncology experts accessible regardless of where in the world those experts are, TELESYNERGY® has the potential to dramatically accelerate cancer research and improve cancer care by facilitating unique collaborations and connections.
Amongst other collaborators, the European School of Oncology (ESO) makes regular use of the system for their live webcasts/e-grandrounds.
Note: The TELESYNERGY® Workstation is available at very low cost to outside collaborators. Interested parties are welcome to use it.
For further information please feel free to contact the NCI Liaison Office: |
Last updated 02-03-2011