Daniel Morgenstern, Head of Clinical Trials at The Hospital for Sick Children, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Coverage in the Globe and Mail about the challenges of access to oncology clinical trials for Canadian patients.
Clinical trials for childhood cancer closed to new Canadian patients in wake of U.S. funding cuts.
At least five cutting-edge clinical trials for childhood cancer have been closed to new Canadian patients because of the Trump administration’s cuts to scientific funding and its directive that grants no longer be shared with foreign researchers.
Toronto’s The Hospital for Sick Children halted enrolment in three trials for incurable brain cancer last month after the U.S. National Cancer Institute decided not to renew funding for a consortium of pediatric brain-tumour scientists whose only Canadian site was at SickKids.
“How frustrating would it be to be a parent who knew that there was a treatment somewhere that could save their child, and not be able to access it because it’s not available in Canada? Just as Canada has made a decision that we need to be more self-reliant and invest in submarines and fighter planes and Arctic radar, I think the question on the table is, is Canada going to be self-sufficient in ensuring that its children have access to the best available cancer treatments?”
Said Jim Whitlock, the division head of hematology and oncology at SickKids.
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