One of projects based in BC is The Patient-driven Cancer Trials (PACT) project – a pan-Canadian study that is being led by Dr. Samantha Pollard, an adjunct professor at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences (SFU FHS). Pollard’s team received $239,000 to create a more accessible and inclusive clinical trial framework for precision oncology that integrate patient and caregiver perspectives, needs, and values.
Precision oncology uses a patient’s genomic (genetic) information to apply tailored cancer prevention and treatment approaches, with the goal of improving patient quality and length of life. Pollard notes that one of the biggest challenges in this field is that “[p]recision medicine can only advance meaningfully if the outcomes generated are beneficial to patients.” She points out that current models of clinical trials can be costly for patients in terms of their time and energy, and early-stage trials might not generate outcomes that patients and their families consider meaningful.
“Through the PACT project, alongside patient partners, we will identify and prioritize features of clinical trial designs that align with patient expectations and motivations for participation. This work will help ensure that the design and conduct of clinical trials for precision oncology directly respond to the needs and preferences of those asked to participate.”
Throughout the PACT project, Dr. Pollard will be collaborating with the Network’s Patient Working Group, a national advisory group made up of over 30 cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. By engaging the Working Group in the selection and final reporting of the precision oncology research projects, TFRI is embedding patient leadership and participation into the Patient Voices in Research initiative from start to finish.
“People who have lived a cancer diagnosis or have accompanied a close family on their cancer journey know better than anyone what cancer care looks like today and what needs to improve,” says Darrell Fox, younger brother of Terry Fox and senior advisor at TFRI. “Like Terry, these cancer patients and survivors are driven by their own experiences to improve outcomes for future patients.”
Rosilene Kraft, a breast cancer patient in Coquitlam, BC remarked that the Patient Voices in Research initiative is truly unique in Canada. “I have participated in other initiatives like this, but this project is the first I’ve seen where the patients set the themes of the competition based on their priorities and then were the sole members of a panel reviewing and rating the research proposals presented. [T]he competition attracted applications of exceptional quality. I feel very proud of having been part of such an empowering initiative for patients.”
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