Monash Health has won the Outstanding Trial Site Award by the Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group (AGITG), in recognition of their commitment to clinical research.
Our clinical trial team received the award in recognition of their long-standing commitment to gastro-intestinal (GI) cancer research.
The team currently have more than 60 clinical trials recruiting, with 20 of these treating GI cancers. These include several trials sponsored by the AGITG, offering new treatments in three GI cancers: colorectal cancer, gastro-oesophageal cancer and neuroendocrine tumours.
“The team are committed to ensuring that all our clinicians working are aware of the trials that are available, and that they are offered to patients wherever appropriate,” says Karen Gillett, Manager of the Oncology Clinical Trials Unit.
“Integrity, compassion, accountability, respect and excellence are at the core of their work.”
Karen accepted the Award at the AGITG’s Annual Scientific Meeting held virtually on 28 August 2020. This Meeting is the premier meeting of specialists in GI cancer clinical trials in Australia.
“Clinical trials in oncology are a central component. We have central triage for referrals that come in, and recruiting trials are one of the first options that we look at. With a high percentage of our doctors being clinical trial investigators, we’re able to offer consultant-lead care.”
“Monash utilizes MHTP’s dedicated clinical trials unit where all aspects of treatment and assessment are undertaken, so this makes it a one-stop-shop for patients, and an environment which they are quite often reluctant to leave.”
Doctor Lorraine Chantrill, Chair of the AGITG, says that the support of medical sites like Monash Health for clinical trials is key to improving the survival outcomes of cancer patients across Australia.
For people with GI cancer, the option to join a clinical trial means they have access to new treatments that may not otherwise be available to them. This is particularly important in GI cancers, where the survival outcomes are much poorer than for other types of cancer.
Overall GI cancers have a five-year survival rate of just 51%, compared to 92% for breast cancer and 95% for prostate cancer. Accessing new treatments through clinical trials, where patients receive the highest standard of medical care, leads to discoveries that can improve survival.