The EORTC, the future of cancer therapy, is a pioneer in promoting multi-disciplinary cancer clinical research and pan-European collaboration and links a network of more than 4,000 clinicians and scientists in more than 600 hospitals in over 30 countries. It encompasses all aspects of cancer research and offers an integrated approach to drug development, drug evaluation programs and medical practices. EORTC Headquarters in Brussels handles some 40 protocols that are permanently open to patient entry, over 24,000 patients who are in follow-up, and a database of more than 187,000 patients. Full clinical, scientific, operational, quality assurance, and regulatory support for clinical and translational research projects is provided by the 175 EORTC Headquarters staff with strong expertise in biostatistics, clinical study design and methodology, endpoint definition and analysis, and new initiatives in imaging and long term survivorship. EORTC studies have contributed to success stories in drugs development including the registration of several drugs by the United States Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. The EORTC has a proven track record in in changing clinical practice as well as establishing new standards, e.g. Through its scientific strategy, the EORTC aims to define the future of cancer therapy. It recognizes that the role of pragmatic data and related methodology need to be developed within multi-stakeholder platforms, and with this goal in mind, the EORTC participates in projects such as those put forth by the Innovative Medicines Initiative. Such activities make the EORTC one of Europe’s leading players in transforming experimental discoveries into new treatments with a significant clinical impact for the benefit of patients.
