EORTC AISBL / IVZW Avenue Mounierlaan, 83/11 Brussel 1200 Bruxelles • Belgie Belgique +32 2 774 16 11
Visitors • Investigators • Intranet • Home

EORTC Strategies/Priorities 2006 - 2009

1. Opening of the EORTC in a stepwise fashion towards

• Northern Europe (Scandinavian countries)
• Then Southern / Eastern Europe
  1. Emphasis will be put on keeping quality and not going too rapidly to avoid losing it.
     
  • Move slowly starting first with the Northern part (Sweden), create liaison offices and then to move towards the  Eastern countries.
  • Fellowship programs. The fellowship program should be further expanded towards Central/ Eastern Europe.

   

2. New models of collaboration with national groups :

• Collaboration should be sought in relation to strategic multimodality questions (large trials addressing multimodality questions such as surgery, radiotherapy, …).
• Liaison offices could help improve collaboration.
• Discussion with national cancer plans.

3. “NOCI” (Network of Core Institutions): moving from a “concept” to a truly efficient network   conducting high quality tailored treatment investigations.

4. Enforcing the prioritization of EORTC trials with an increasing proportion of high quality trials with an explanatory component.

• Category 1 & category 2 trials

Category 1

A.	Randomized phase III trials aiming at answering a question which directly contribute to define new standards of care (and amongst others trials with a strong multidisciplinary component, including trials prepared and run jointly by different EORTC groups).
B.	Randomized phase III trials with a strong targeted translational research component that may permit a fundamental advance in the understanding of a particular disease.
C.	Intergroup randomized phase III trials not led by an EORTC group but corresponding to the criteria listed under category 1A or 1B.

Category 2

A.	-	Phase II randomized trials clearly designed as a preparatory work for a following randomized phase III.
	-	Registration trial with a clinically relevant question and a translational research component.
B.		Phase Ib trials involving drugs with novel mechanism of action and with commitment from the company for vertical drug development in the EORTC (including combination studies with radiotherapy and biological agents).

Category 3

A.	-	Randomized phase III trials that do not meet the requirements of the above mentioned categories.
B	-	Randomized phase II trials with no or a weak translational research component. Phase I and single arm phase II trials with drug having truly new mechanisms of action, but for which a plan of later development within the EORTC is lacking.
C.		Other phase I and single arm phase II studies.

Implementation

• All clinical trial groups should aim at having at least one trial in category 1 prior to considering trials in other categories.
• A “+” (eg category IIb+…) should be added to trials that also comprise a project aiming at:
  • storing tissue for future research
  • investigating new methodological aspects of clinical research (surrogate endpoints, new designs…)
• Groups will be asked to assign a category (as defined above) for each new outline submitted to the PRC. PRC will confirm the category proposed by the group.

 

• Focus on “tailored therapies” in a 2-STEP fashion :

-	NOCI (+ EORTC lab division)
-	Disease/treatment oriented groups

 

5. Maintain and strengthen the EORTC position as leading organization conducting trials in “niche”  indications with bio-banking.

• Need to have bio-banking organized within EORTC and link with NOCI projects.

6. Take action to meet the financial requirements to realize the scientific agenda in order to establish more effective treatments and change practice.

• In particular, more funding will be required to face the challenges linked to European Directives on clinical trials (higher costs).
• Also, more funding will be required for non drug trials/strategy trials/translational research.