Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials Network to further improve equitable access to cancer clinical trials with new funding

Support from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer will further advance 3CTN’s equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives and fund six new projects across Canada

March 5th, 2025, TORONTO – The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC) has awarded the Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials Network (3CTN) with $600,000 in additional funding to support further efforts to improve access to clinical trials for underserved communities.

This funding will support 3CTN Network sites in implementing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) best practices for conducting clinical trials by funding six demonstration projects. These projects build upon the progress enabled by 3CTN’s EDI framework and toolkit and will seek to address common challenges to equitable trial access. Outcomes will help inform strategies for adopting best practices across 3CTN’s pan-Canadian network.

Clinical trials are a crucial step to advancing cancer research and can also serve as a way for those living with cancer to access innovative treatments, diagnostic technologies and more. However, factors such as geography, financial constraints and cultural and language barriers can limit the ease with which some groups and communities are able to participate in clinical trials.

To further improve access to clinical trials, this funding will also be used to support expanding the adoption of 3CTN’s successful Canadian Remote Access Framework for Clinical Trials (CRAFT) initiative. CRAFT is an innovative approach to organizing decentralized clinical trial delivery that employs a hub-and-spoke system, allowing trial patients to participate in activities closer to their home. To progress the effort further, 3CTN will hold a CRAFT workshop in March of this year to address remaining challenges to implementing the approach and discover areas for improvement.

Finally, this funding from CPAC will be used to begin collection of standardized EDI-related data at 28 Network cancer centres for patients enrolled in trials that are part of 3CTN’s portfolio. This initiative is designed to provide the information needed to better understand existing gaps to accessing clinical trials at the national level, or within specific regions. Doing so will help ensure that cancer clinical trials reflect Canada’s diversity of patients with cancer and improve cancer care for all.

“We are very thankful to the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer for their continued support, including the funding announced today,” says Dr. Janet Dancey, Scientific Director of 3CTN. “This CPAC funding enables the next phase in our continued campaign to make access to clinical trials more equitable and make a positive impact on the lives of cancer patients and their families across the country.”

“CPAC is pleased to continue supporting 3CTN in this important initiative to improve the access of high-quality clinical trials in underserved communities,” says Dr. Craig Earle, CEO of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. “Understanding where the gaps are in clinical trials and ensuring that the trials reflect the diversity of cancer patients across the country are crucial in delivering innovative, person-centred cancer care in Canada.”

About the Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials Network

3CTN is a pan-Canadian initiative to improve patient access to trials and the efficiency and quality of clinical trials activities in Canada. It provides support and coordination for a network of teams at cancer treatment centres and hospitals, enabling sites to improve their capacity and capability to conduct trials, while also increasing access to trials for patients.

About the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer

As steward of the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control (the Strategy), the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer works with provincial and territorial ministries of health and their cancer programs, First Nations, Inuit and Métis governments and organizations, health system leaders and experts, and people affected by cancer across Canada to implement the Strategy to improve cancer outcomes for all people in Canada. Learn more at partnershipagainstcancer.ca.