TROG Cancer Research celebrates International Clinical Trials Day

TROG Cancer Research celebrates International Clinical Trials Day

TROG Cancer Research are celebrating the results they’ve achieved so far in their DCIS trial (TROG 07.01/BIG 3-07) in partnership with Breast International Group (BIG). This comes at the perfect time, as today is International Clinical Trials Day (20 May 2022).

This day is to celebrate the people who conduct clinical trials, like TROG, and to show thanks and appreciation to all those who participate in clinical trials including researchers, health professionals and patients.

For over 30 years, TROG’s Australian and New Zealand based members have conducted clinical research and have been improving the outcomes of people affected by cancer.

Every cancer trial starts with a question or an idea. At TROG, once a new question or idea is submitted by a researcher, the team at TROG work with researchers to turn their ideas into a fully realised clinical trial. New proposals are peer-reviewed by an experienced multidisciplinary team of research and clinical professionals.

TROG Cancer Research CEO, Susan Goode said that more often than not proposals come from collaborations with other cancer collaborative groups and discussions with industry partners.

“This is where our work with BIG comes in. The TROG 07.01/BIG 3-07 DCIS trial is a partnership between BIG and TROG and is a randomised phase III study of radiation doses and fractionation schedules in non-low risk ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS) of the breast,” Susan said.

DCIS is the name for a condition in which abnormal cells are contained within the milk ducts of the breast. DCIS is not an invasive breast cancer, however if left untreated it has the potential to turn into an invasive breast cancer.

Together, TROG and BIG have recruited 1,608 patients from 11 countries, two years earlier than projected and demonstrated the importance of tailoring radiation treatment of patients with DCIS according to their risks of recurrence to avoid over or under-treatment.

Early results of the trial have shown that, after breast conserving surgery, higher radiation doses to the part of the breast where the DCIS was found, in addition to radiation therapy of the whole breast, significantly reduced the risk of the disease returning in patients with higher-risk DCIS.

Compared to five weeks of whole breast radiation therapy, the study also showed that the shorter, more convenient three weeks of radiation therapy did not result in an increase in recurrence.

Principal Investigator of the DCIS study, Director of Cancer and Haematology Services at UNSW (University of New South Wales) and Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia, Professor Boon Chua, M.D., PhD, said the study demonstrates the importance of tailoring radiation treatment of patients with DCIS according to their risks of recurrence to avoid over or under-treatment.

“As the majority of these patients are, fortunately, long-term survivors, we need to minimise not only the risk of recurrence but also the long-term side effects of treatment to give them the best quality of life possible,” Boon said.

“The team is honoured to collaborate with leading health professionals to tailor treatments to each patient and to improve outcomes and quality of life for those with DCIS,” Susan continued.

“It is so fitting to be celebrating the success of this trial around International Clinical Trials Day. The team at TROG are passionate about working towards finding innovative ways to cure different types of cancers, and that’s why clinical trials are so important.

IMAGE |  Principal Investigator of the DCIS study, Professor Boon Chua.

TROG Cancer Research

TROG (the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group) is a global leader in cancer research and has been successfully improving the outcomes of cancer patients since 1989.

Our mission is to improve treatments and quality of life for cancer patients, and we do so by working collaboratively. We areone of the largest clinical trial groups in Australia and New Zealand and we work with hospitals, universities, cancer centres and the wider community around the world to conduct life-changing research.

TROG Cancer Research’s focus is providing hope to people with all cancer types through one treatment, radiation therapy.

Our research findings have helped advance the way many cancers are treated worldwide.

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