General info

• Secretariat
• Goals of the workshop
• Scientific formats
• Selection of participants

• Preparation for the Workshop

• Fellowships

• Workshop materials

• Workshop venue

• Workshop housing

Secretariat

For further information about the 10th ECCO-AACR-ASCO Workshop "Methods in Clinical Cancer Research", please contact:

Workshop Secretariat

ECCO - the European CanCer Organisation

Avenue E. Mounier 83 1200

Brussels - Belgium

Tel.: +32 (0) 2 775 02 01

Fax: +32 (0) 2 775 02 00

E-mail: workshop <at>ecco-org.eu

* please replace <at> with @

Goals of the workshop

Errors made in the design and conduct of a clinical trial can make it impossible for the trial to provide a definitive answer about the effectiveness of a new approach. Poor design can thus lead to the abandonment of promising avenues of research that are based on sound basic scientific work and to delays in the introduction of new treatments into the general practice of medical oncology. ECCO, AACR and ASCO have responded to this problem by designing jointly a programme that will:

• introduce junior clinical oncologists in any oncology subspecialty to the principles of good clinical trials design; i.e. give them the tools they need to conduct clinical trials that will yield clear results which investigators can use to proceed to the next level of research; 
• expose junior clinical oncologists to the full spectrum of challenges in clinical research, from conventional antineoplastic agents and multidisciplinary treatment regimens to gene therapy, in the expectation that they will then want to devote all or a portion of their future careers to some aspect of clinical research; 
• develop a cadre of well-trained, experienced researchers whose expertise will foster better clinical trial designs and thereby hasten the introduction of improved regimens for cancer therapy and prevention into everyday medical practice and patient care.

Scientific formats

The scientific programme for the Workshop will consist of five educational formats to serve a variety of didactic needs: 

• Protocol development sessions during which each participant develops a concept sheet for a clinical trial protocol and, through extensive mentoring, completes the writing of the protocol before the end of the workshop. These sessions constitute the core activity of the workshop and allow students to apply the lessons learned in the workshop to their own programmes and to receive detailed critiques of their proposals from experienced scientists. 
• Small group discussion sessions on special topics. These sessions treat topics that are either essential to the success of many different kinds of clinical trials or offer an opportunity for students to discuss the intricacies of a particular type of trial in a small group session. These sessions will be limited in size to maximise exchange of information. 
• Lectures and panel discussions on specific topics presented by experts in the field. These talks give participants a necessary overview of the design and conduct of high-quality clinical trials. Where appropriate, lectures on related topics are followed by a panel discussion or round table session during which faculty and students can explore issues raised during the talks in greater depth. 
• One-on-one session for individual counseling and advice on protocol and career development.

Selection of participants

The Programme Committee will review and select 70 participants (physicians) from all the applications received. Preference will be given to those who are close to the end of their Residency/Fellowship training and to junior staff, within 5 years of completion of their training. The Committee will further base its decisions on the quality and feasibility of the proposed protocol concept and the letters of commitment submitted by both the applicant and the Supervisor/Department Head.

These documents will be scrutinised on both for the information they supply about the candidate and the assurances they provide about the participation of the candidate and his or her supervisor in the long-term evaluation of the Workshop. The Committee will seek a group of 70 trainees who have made outstanding progress in their medical training, who have displayed an interest and competence in clinical cancer research, and who will come from a diverse group of European training institutions and personal backgrounds. A limited number of non-European applicants will be accepted.

Important criteria applying to the selection: 

1. study proposals with a feasible design addressing a sound scientific question/concept, with a clinically relevant primary endpoint and limited secondary endpoints, not studied before 
2. applicants who have the support from relevant departments/institution or groups to help conduct the proposed clinical trial, after attending the Workshop 
3. at least preliminary commitment obtained from sponsor to provide study agent(s) of interest (if applicable)

The submission of study proposals requiring very large sample sizes and prolonged follow-up to address the primary endpoint is very much discouraged, unless the applicant is able to implement such study within the institutional setting.

Applicants will be notified of their status by early April 2008.

Applicants are informed that the official language of the Workshop is English and that all protocols should be written in English. Therefore, knowledge of written and spoken English is mandatory. Basic computer knowledge will be required to develop the protocol on site.

Those accepted for the Workshop will start at the Workshop with the presentation of the concept for the proposed prospective clinical trial and leave with a finished protocol.

Preparation for the Workshop

A background literature review of the relevant tumour type, the therapeutic intervention, as well as on the proposed trial design and its handling would be highly desirable as a preparation for the Workshop and will greatly improve productivity. Participants are also advised to bring this background information to the Workshop, preferably in electronic version, so that it can easily be used in the trial.

 

In addition, it is considered advantageous that students write a concise (max 2 pages) trial/disease background document highlighting in bullet points the focus of their concept.

 

Fellowships

The Committee will award the selected participants with a fellowship. This group will not be required to pay any registration fee for the Workshop.

 

They will also receive hotel accommodation in Flims for the nights of 21 June through 26 June, and complimentary meals throughout the Workshop with the exception of dinner on Monday 23 June. Participants receiving a fellowship will be required to share a hotel room with another awardee. A fee of 100 EUR will be imposed on all participants to offset the costs of social events and a group photo. The participants will receive a restricted travel grant to cover part of the travel expenses.

 

Workshop materials

All faculty members will contribute material to the Workshop syllabus to be distributed to all participants at the Workshop. For each lecture and small group discussion section the syllabus will contain the instructional objectives of the presentation, an outline of the topics to be covered and a bibliography of relevant articles and texts. Part of the Workshop material will be available on the internet before the Workshop. Onsite, all participants will receive their personal electronic copy of the programme documentation.

 

Workshop venue

Workshop sessions will take place at the Park Hotel Waldhaus, Flims, Switzerland. The organisers will arrange for complimentary shuttle bus transport for Workshop participants between the Zurich airport and the Park Hotel Waldhaus in Flims on Saturday morning 21 June, and again on Friday 27 June 2008. Participants will receive the schedule of the shuttle buses in advance. Apart from the shuttle bus service no other complimentary transport between Zurich and Flims will be provided.

 

Workshop housing

All applicants accepted to the Workshop should reside at the Park Hotel Waldhaus for the duration of the Workshop and participate in all group meals. Fellows will receive complimentary accommodation at the hotel on the basis of a hotel room to be shared with one other Workshop participant. Fellows requesting single room accommodation will have to pay a supplement of 50 EUR per night/per person.