Researchers condemn Mater Hospital postponement of cancer drug trials
The All-Ireland Co-operative Oncology Research Group otherwise known as ICORG yesterday expressed regret that doctors at the Mater were experiencing difficulties in carrying out clinical research on a new drug to treat lung cancer.
ICORG chief executive Dr Brian Moulton said his members' aim was to enable Irish patients to get early access to the very latest cancer treatments through clinical trials.
"At a time when governments north and south of the Border are to be congratulated for investing significantly in cancer research, it is disappointing to think that any group of patients would be excluded from access to the latest cancer treatments," said Dr Moulton.
He said it was widely acknowledged by international cancer specialists that research into the disease allowed patients access to the best possible therapy.
Researchers at the Mater had planned to conduct clinical trials on a drug called Tarceva which has been fast-tracked by US health authorities for early testing because it has been shown to increase survival for patients with advanced lung cancer by months.
Dr Moulton claimed cancer researchers occasionally experienced similar problems because some Irish hospitals took longer than others to approve protocols for drug tests. He declined to identify hospitals where this was a recurring issue.
The Mater claims it deferred the planned trials on Tarceva because the wording of an information leaflet for the drug ran counter to the hospital's Catholic ethos over its advice that female patients would have to use birth control.
Meanwhile, a study of cancer care in 19 countries found cancer patients would have a better chance of recovery if they got the latest drugs and treatments much more quickly than they do.
The Swedish research team gave Ireland an average rating for the speed at which the latest treatments get to patients. But they admitted that getting the relevant Irish statistics was very difficult.
