National Cancer Research Network (NCRN)
The National Cancer Research Network (NCRN) was created in 2001 in response to the need to improve NHS capacity to facilitate cancer clinical research. At that time, it was recognised that research had to become more closely integrated with cancer care to improve recruitment to randomised controlled trials and other well designed studies and that issues around the delivery, speed and coordination of research needed to be urgently addressed.
NCRN was tasked with developing the infrastructure to support research within the NHS and met this challenge by establishing local cancer research networks which were closely mapped on to existing NHS service networks and which collectively covered the whole of England, and collaborated closely with networks developed in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Network proved to be highly effective and, by 2004, had succeeded in more than doubling the rate of cancer patients being accrued into clinical research studies.
Now working as part of the UK Clinical Research Network, NCRN continues to focus on the development of a high quality, balanced portfolio of studies that cover a broad range of methodologies and disease areas (particularly rarer cancers), working in collaboration with industry and sustaining and increasing accrual into cancer studies.
Local Research Networks
There are a total of 40 Local Research Networks in cancer across the UK: 33 in England, 3 in Scotland, 3 in Wales and 1 in Northern Ireland.
Clinical Studies Groups
Clinical Studies Groups provide the primary route through which new clinical research ideas are developed.
In addition to working in all the traditional areas of oncology, groups have been formed to expand the research agendas in the palliative, psychosocial and complementary areas of cancer management, and in primary care. The groups are funded by major cancer charities and the Medical Research Council and are UK-wide in their remit.
The National Cancer Research Network Coordinating Centre.
The NCRN Coordinating Centre is managed by a consortium from the University of Leeds and the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit. Dr David Cameron will take up the position of Director of NCRN from November 2006.
NCRN can be contacted at the following address:
National Cancer Research Network Coordinating Centre
24 Hyde Terrace
Leeds
LS2 9LN
Tel: 0113 343 2254
Fax: 0113 343 2242
Email: enquiries@ncrn.org.uk
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