The Cancer Clinical Trials and Research Unit (CCTU) at Beaumont Hospital – Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a department led by specialist cancer researchers based at Beaumont Hospital serving the largest catchment area (*North East) in Ireland, who provide new treatment options for patients with cancer, in the form of clinical trials.
The overall aim of the Beaumont-RCSI CCTU is to offer clinical trials to patients with a range of cancers, with a focus on serving the population of patients in the North-East (Sites: Beaumont-RCSI, OLOL: Drogheda, James Connolly: Blanchardstown), and nationally in areas where we have subspecialist expertise. The overarching goal of cancer clinical trials is to improve cancer care by evaluating new and promising treatments for cancer, which may replace current standards of care. The CCTU also aims to provide education to doctors and nurses in the development and conduct of clinical trials. We are particularly interested in listening to patients and their families about how cancer could be better treated, and how trials could be improved.
The Beaumont-RCSI CCTU consists of a cohesive group of experienced researchers with expertise in clinical trial development and patient care on clinical trials. However, only a small minority of patients are offered clinical trials, in part due to the limited number of staff. In the future, we hope to expand the number of trials available to patients, specifically for common (lung, breast) and rare cancers (brain tumours,) treated in the Beaumont-RCSI cluster, and in favourable areas of cancer research where our specialists have particular expertise (immunotherapy, molecular treatment). If the Beaumont-RCSI CCTU is successful in this application, we will offer more clinical trials to more patients in the North-East and nationally, develop local expertise, and learn from patient and researcher experience for the betterment of Irish cancer care.
