Report from the ECMC network meeting 2025
Last month (May-25) we hosted our ECMC network meeting, and welcomed over 200 clinicians, operational staff, patient representatives and industry partners for a packed agenda focused on innovation, collaboration and equity in early phase cancer trials.
The day began with an overview of the ECMC network, highlighting its growth, progress and the collaborative power of early phase cancer research across the UK. We then heard the patient perspective on the potential of early phase trials. The morning plenary session continued with our expert speakers delivered engaging talks and sparking discussions on:
- Tackling the declining UK clinical research workforce
- How the regulatory landscape can better support early phase trial delivery
- Delivering radiopharmaceutical trials in collaboration between the network and industry
- How the network can learn from other international networks after we’d head from the CLIP network in France
Over lunch delegates were able to view posters from the ECMCs and ECMC Programme Office whilst networking with new and old colleagues.
After lunch delegates had the choice of three breakout sessions that discussed some of the key challenges facing the network and wider clinical research landscape. Discussions focused on:
- What breakthrough could redefine cancer care
- Real-world approaches to improving trial set-up and delivery
- How we can improve equity in trial access
The final session of the day focused on innovation, technology and data with presentations on:
- Ensuring innovative technical approaches are patient centric
- How we can effectively delivery early phase clinical trials through better use of healthcare systems data
- Exploring the opportunities and challenges within decentralised trials
- Maximising the impact of digital healthcare products
It was great to see so many of you from the network and a big thank you to our brilliant speakers, panellists and attendees for sharing their expertise. Contact ecmcadmin@cancer.org.uk if you would like to find out more about this meeting.
