A Message from the NCTN Group Chairs

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

The Cooperative Groups that come together in the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) are responsible for a number of significant advances in cancer treatment arising over the past 40 years. In that time, as published by Unger et al (J Clin Oncol, 2023), this research has led to an estimated 14 million life-years saved for patients with cancer, in an incredibly cost-effective manner ($326 per life-year saved). In communities and cancer centers across the land, Cooperative Group trials are continually changing standards of care and providing much needed treatment options for patients. As Chairs of the US Cooperative Groups, we are grateful for NIH and NCI funding that has made this lifesaving work possible and concerned about the impact of the proposed changes in their budgets. We encourage you to emphasize and promote the significance of our collective work in public discourse.

Policymakers should be aware of the contributions of our research to local economies. A guide to this is provided by NIH: In fiscal year 2023, every $1 of NIH funding generated approximately $2.46 of economic activity. The multiplier is well-recognized, creates employment, and is a key factor behind the extensive availability of cutting-edge, practice-changing trials. It is important to emphasize that our work has a patient-centered focus. We rely on patients to help set research priorities, as part of our commitment to reducing the side effects of treatment and improving the patients’ quality of life.

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) this week issued a statement of concern, as well as a call to action. We are providing a link to the full statement here to invite our members to engage in informing legislators about the critical importance of NIH and NCI’s mission, and that progress against cancer is being made in nearly every congressional district. It is essential that we advocate for widespread support of the Cooperative Groups' efforts in providing treatment options to cancer patients throughout the US. Please follow this link to the AACR statement, which includes a button to allow you to send comments to your representative.

On behalf of:

Alliance for Cancer Trials in Oncology: Eva Galanis, MD

Children’s Oncology Group: Douglas Hawkins, MD

ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group: Peter O’Dwyer, MD, & Mitch Schnall, MD, PhD

NRG Oncology: Quynh-Thu Le, MD, Robert Mannel, MD, & Norman Wolmark, MD

SWOG Cancer Research Network: Charles Blanke, MD