ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF CANCER TREATMENTS 

Through past clinical trials, researchers have developed less-invasive methods of surgery and new drugs that work better for specific types of cancer or that cause fewer side-effects.

The Ontario Cancer Research Network (OCRN), funded by the Ontario government, is working to speed up the development and testing of promising new cancer therapies. Currently, fewer than five per cent of cancer patients in Ontario take part in clinical trials. The OCRN has set a goal of doubling the number of participants in trials.

To help reach this target, the OCRN has established the $10.3-million Clinical Trials Infrastructure Fund, which allows Ontario's 14 cancer centres to hire more staff and acquire facilities to expand their clinical trials programs. In the fund's first year, cancer centres recorded a 45 per cent increase in clinical trial enrollment. Innovative therapies are now reaching patients sooner and may become the standard treatment in the near future.