Praise for staff and patients on International Clinical Trials Day

Posted 19th May 2023

International Clinical Trials Day - held on May 20th - is a time for the The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust to thank everyone who works or takes part in clinical cancer research – one of the main drivers in improving outcomes for our patients.

It is a day to celebrate the huge strides cancer research has taken over the past decades through clinical trials, which have been instrumental in progressing the hugely effective treatment and care we can provide to patients at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.

Everyone who works in clinical research at the Trust plays their part in improving those therapies and methods – helping more people to be cured of cancer, survive longer or give people a better quality of life while they live with the disease.

Over the past year, clinical research at the Trust has been given a huge boost and vote of confidence by the awarding of statuses to Clatterbridge which confirm our place as one of the UK’s leading cancer research centres.

We became an associate partner in a Biomedical Research Centre with institutions including London’s Royal Marsden Hospital and also joined a Clinical Research Facility collaboration between Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust and Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital. In January, it was also confirmed that CCC had retained its Liverpool Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre status.

Dr Gillian Heap, Director of Research and Innovation Operations, said: “International Clinical Trials Day is a point in the year when we can rightly celebrate all our staff who do such tremendous work every day.

“Research is a team effort and all staff across the Trust can play a huge role in our clinical trials, which we conduct with such expertise at CCC. So, I’d like to thank all our colleagues who show such dedication to their work in driving forward cancer research.

“The opening of our Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit last year is one of the building blocks in our ambitious strategy to increase the quantity, complexity and breadth of our clinical trials, which not only will improve outcomes for our patients and expand medical knowledge that can help in the worldwide campaign against cancer, but can bring much-needed funding into the Trust.

“I would also like to thank all our patients who have agreed to take part in clinical trials – patients who have no guarantee that participation will help them personally, but who are always willing to support research so that they have the chance to help others now and in the future.”