Optimisation immunotherapy clinical trials investigate ways of reducing the intensity of immunotherapy cancer treatment. This could be beneficial for patients’ quality of life. But these trials can be challenging to run, as patients may be concerned about the impact that reducing the intensity of treatment could have on the cancer.
This episode of the Trial Talk podcast focuses on the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL’s OPTIC study, which explores how people with cancer feel about taking part in optimisation immunotherapy trials. Clinical Fellow Sophie Merrick discusses the main barriers that patients face and recommendations to address them.
Resources:
•OPTIC study page: www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/studies/all-st…/refine/optic/
•OPTIC results paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41416-024-02756-x.pdf
•REFINE podcast episode: on.soundcloud.com/Fe3C76csHkgCg2or5
For questions or feedback on the series, message us at mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk
For more information and to access the transcript: bit.ly
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6/18/2024
The MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL is committed to actively involving patients and the public in our trials. All our Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) work is overseen by our PPI Group, made up of MRC CTU staff alongside seven patient representatives, with a wide range of experience in different areas.
In this episode of the Trial Talk podcast, two members of the Unit’s PPI Group, Richard Stephens and Ian Newsome, discuss what PPI means to them; how they got involved as patient representatives in clinical research; and how the MRC CTU at UCL embeds PPI into our trials.
Resources:
• Our PPI group: www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/patients-publi…our-ppi-group/
• PPI resources: www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/patients-publi…ppi-resources/
• Testing Treatments: Better Research for Better Healthcare (book): www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK66204/
For more information and to access the transcript: bit.ly/3KlKtak
For questions or feedback on the podcast series, message us at mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk.
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5/29/2024
In the first episode of our new Trial Talk series, Hanif Esmail and Conor Tweed take over the microphones to interview Andrew Nunn and Sarah Meredith, who have both recently retired from the Unit, having spent a combined total of 92 years working in the field of tuberculosis (TB).
As we celebrate Andrew and Sarah’s long and accomplished careers, we’ll dive into the history of TB clinical trials and muse on the future of TB research.
For more information and to access the transcript: www.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-stor…inical-trials/
Check out our earlier podcast episodes about TB trials, also featuring Andrew Nunn:
• Trial-talk-podcast – The-stream2-trial-how-should-we-treat-multi-drug-resistant-tuberculosis
• Trial-talk-podcast – Andrew-nunn-talks-medical-statistics-tb-and-algerian-nomads-part-1
• Trial-talk-podcast – Andrew-nunn-talks-medical-statistics-tb-and-algerian-nomads-part-2
For questions or feedback on the series, message us at mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk
As a listener, you
1
1/26/2024
Octopus is a new clinical trial for people living with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), which is designed and run by the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL. Thanks to its multi-arm multi-stage platform design, Octopus has the potential to transform the way treatments for progressive MS are tested. The trial is now open in the UK and will be recruiting participants for the next few years.
The podcast mini-series will explore the trial from different perspectives by talking to neurologists, MS experts and people affected by MS.
In the final part, we explore the role of people affected by MS in the Octopus trial. Susan Scott, a pharmaceutical publications specialist and Octopus patient representative, shares her involvement in the trial and explains how PPI has benefited Octopus so far.
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11/8/2023
Octopus is a new clinical trial for people living with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), which is designed and run by the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL. Thanks to its multi-arm multi-stage platform design, Octopus has the potential to transform the way treatments for progressive MS are tested. The trial is now open in the UK and will be recruiting participants for the next few years.
The podcast mini-series will explore the trial from different perspectives by talking to neurologists, MS experts and people affected by MS.
In Part 3, MS experts Dawn Lyle and Matthew Justin walk us through the journey that trial participants take when taking part in Octopus, from how to register your interest in the trial, to what to expect on your first visit.
3
11/1/2023
Octopus is a new clinical trial for people living with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), which is designed and run by the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL. Thanks to its multi-arm multi-stage platform design, Octopus has the potential to transform the way treatments for progressive MS are tested. The trial is now open in the UK and will be recruiting participants for the next few years.
The podcast mini-series will explore the trial from different perspectives by talking to neurologists, MS experts and people affected by MS.
Part 2 of the series explores our Octopus trial in depth. Professor Jeremy Chataway, lead investigator of Octopus, discusses its novel design, the treatments it will test, and the criteria for people to take part. He also explains the data researchers will collect and analyse to find out if a treatment is working.
1
10/24/2023
Innovative platform designs present an opportunity to run faster and more efficient clinical trials.
Clinical trials methodology is a research area that looks at how to improve the design, conduct, and analysis of clinical trials. It focuses on developing and implementing new methods to help run trials faster and more efficiently, that will ultimately accelerate the discovery of new treatments.
In this episode, methodologist Matteo Quartagno tells us about a new clinical trial design called MAMS-ROCI. It is a type of multi-arm multi-stage design that compares a range of different treatment durations, doses or frequencies to identify the optimal one.
1
9/20/2023
STAMPEDE is a long-running trial in advanced prostate cancer, in which nearly 12,000 men have taken part. Thanks to its multi-arm multi-stage platform design, STAMPEDE has tested many different treatments and directly led to improvements in the standard of prostate cancer care several times.
This Trial Talk podcast mini-series will explore the trial’s journey from its inception in the early 2000s to the end of patient recruitment in March 2023.
In the final part, Max Parmar and Nick James look back over the trial’s impact on clinical practice and platform trial design, and look forward to STAMPEDE2 and their hopes for the future of prostate cancer research.
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Further information is available on the STAMPEDE study page at www.mrcctu.ac.uk
For questions or feedback on the series, message us at mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk
For more information and to access the transcript: bit.ly/3OQWhV8
As a listener, your opinion is very valuable to us. Please help us to improve the podcast in future
6
8/23/2023