14 minute read
ANZUP Operational Report
Group meetings:
• We held a combined ANZUP USANZ Conference in Melbourne on
Friday 5 August 2011 .
• The ANZUP Annual General Meeting was held during the ANZUP
USANZ Conference on Friday 5 August 2011 at 1:10pm (AEST) .
• The ANZUP Annual Scientific Meeting was held in Perth from 14-17 November 2011 in partnership with COSA .
• ANZUP Board, Finance and Audit Committee, Fundraising and Promotion Committee, Operations Executive, SAC, SAC subcommittees, CAP and Trial Management Committees held regular scheduled meetings and teleconferences throughout the year .
Data and quality:
Cancer Australia-supported trials staff at NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre have continued to contribute to the update and maintenance of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) used by ANZUP to reflect relevant quality standards (GCP ICH) and relevant regulatory guidelines . All trials staff are qualified and are trained in SOPs, consistent with GCP guidelines and the ‘National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007) – Updated 2009’ and have implemented these processes for ANZUP trials .
A database for the PAS in SORCE sub-study trial has been designed, tested and released by the appointed data systems developer and programmer in the reporting period using the system ‘OpenClinica’ . Clinical trials staff assigned to ANZUP have undertaken training modules to ensure the optimal management of clinical trials data by all staff using these systems .
Clinical trial data quality is managed at site and at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre . The quality of data at sites is reviewed both centrally at the NHMRC CTC and at the sites by on-site visits . During this reporting period eight on-site monitoring visits were successfully conducted for the EVERSUN project across the country for quality assurance purposes, additional to this two EVERSUN sites were visited by an independent NHMRC CTC auditor . The data management activities are conducted as per established ‘Monitoring Plans’ and ‘Data Correction Plans’ for each trial . Independent internal review of trial documentation was also successfully conducted during this period .
Web Site and communication:
The ANZUP web site www .anzup .org .au continues to be a major part of our communication strategy to engage with our members . We will be looking to revamp the site and it will include information around all our activities e .g . clinical trials, fundraising & our new corporate supporters program . We look forward to launching our new look site to members and the community as a means to promote ANZUP activities .
We have circulated three editions of ANZUP’s newsletter “UPdate” to our members and more frequent e-news communications have also occurred . Other regular communication continues via the website in relation to subcommittee meetings, teleconferences and emails .
The current ANZUP web site .
The new look ANZUP web site .
ANZUP Operational Report continued
The Newsletter of ANZUP Clinical Trials Group Limited The Newsletter of ANZUP Cancer Trials Group Limited
UPdate
April 2012 June 2009 Volume 1 Issue 1 www.anzup.org.au
Message from the Chair
Welcome to the April 2012 edition of the Australian & New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group Ltd (ANZUP) newsletter.
To conduct clinical trial research to improve treatment of Bladder, Kidney, Testicular and Prostate Cancers.
ANZUP exists to perform clinical trial research to improve treatment for our patients so that they survive longer and the quality of their lives is improved. This requires a better understanding of their cancers and an ability to bring a diverse range of treatments to bear on the problem. Our trials include more conventional treatment approaches using drugs, surgery or radiotherapy; but also basic laboratory research and trials designed to assess and improve supportive care and quality of life. ANZUP is able to perform the types of trials that address these key questions but that will not be performed by industry or other bodies. We also have as a key imperative a desire to build for the future by mentoring the next generation of cancer clinicians and researchers, and link to the community for strategic planning and better communication.
Once again the newsletter is full of information about our diverse activities. These include:
Annual Scientific Meeting
Our partnership with COSA in 2011 was a great success and significantly raised the profile of ANZUP. We are now in a position to run the scientific meeting we always wanted to run. This will be held from
15-17 July 2012 at the Four Points by
Sheraton in Sydney. The program can be found here http://www.anzup.org.au/ content.aspx?page=asm-program and more information follows in the newsletter. We will include an ANZUP trainee day; opportunities for presentation of original research; information about current trials; brainstorming workshops for new clinical trials opportunities; plenary sessions from our four fantastic international speakers; presentations from our stellar local speakers; a community forum; ANZUP/Novartis travel grants; and a great social program. Earlybird registration is still open and you also receive a discount on registration if you are a member, great value for your membership fee - that is and is intended to remain at $0. Abstract submissions are now underway. Please block out this time in your diaries to ensure you can attend and also look to make opportunities for your colleagues to attend also, particularly trainees.
Finally thanks to all of our sponsors and exhibitors for their wonderful support especially our Platinum sponsor, Janssen Cilag; Gold: Pfizer & Sanofi; Silver: Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Amgen and Ipsen; Bronze: Cancer Institute NSW and Novartis.
Other meetings
It’s not all just about us. We live and work in a vibrant community of clinicians and researchers all aiming for the same goals. In 2011 we strengthened our links with USANZ and held a joint meeting in Melbourne in lieu of the meeting intended to be held earlier in the year in Christchurch. It was obvious to all that USANZ and ANZUP shared common goals and could benefit from working together. ANZUP will have a presence at the 2012 USANZ meeting to be held in Darwin from 21-24 April 2012, and we are working to see how together we can enhance the 2013 meeting planned for Melbourne. ANZUP will also have a presence at the CNSA Winter meeting in July.
Please do not forget to attend our company Annual General Meeting, which will be held on Monday 16 July 2012 at 5pm. The AGM is a requirement for us under the Corporations Act and we need a good quorum of members to attend.
Membership
Membership continues to grow and we welcome new members. ANZUP’s total membership recently ticked over 400. We see this as a great start and we want to see it continue. Please continue to promote ANZUP to your friends, colleagues, institutions and professional organisations. We offer something for everyone and your involvement can be as great or as little as you like. Why not participate more directly in one of our subcommittees?
Strategic planning and fundraising
The ANZUP Board recognises that we need more resources to do the work we really want to do. We want to be able to perform more and better trials; start a trial without the need to wait long periods of time for uncertain grant funding; and run more meetings where we can meet face to face, which is where the real work most often gets done. ANZUP is now in a situation where it is able to undertake meaningful fundraising The Newsletter of ANZUP Clinical Trials Group Limited The Newsletter of ANZUP Cancer Trials Group Limited activities. These will involve quite a bit of work in terms of publicity, the web site, making new connections with industry and philanthropy, and strategic partnerships with other stakeholders. These processes have already begun and we will keep you up to date with them. One exciting initiative has been the launch of our corporate UPdate partnerships with a number of organisations. See the web site www.anzup.org.au for more information on this. December 2011 June 2009 Volume 1 Issue 1 www.anzup.org.au
ANZUP now has appropriate donor gift recipient and fundraising status in all Australian states and territories. You may have links to people in business or finance. Many of these organisations might be Message interested in supporting cancer research, not forgetting that we look after some malespecific cancers but also that women also get from bladder and kidney cancer as well as men. (continued) the Chair UPdate 1 Welcome to the December edition of the Australian & New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group Ltd (ANZUP) newsletter “UPdate”.
Recent issues of ANZUP’s newsletter “UPdate” .
ANZUP’s vision is to improve outcomes for our patients not only in terms of survival but also in improving the quality of their lives. We want to understand cancer better and to design better treatments based on that understanding. This in turn requires development and conduct of clinical research including conventional treatment intervention-based studies, as well as supportive care studies and work designed to improve our understanding of cancer biology. A key part of our role is to answer the important questions that industry might not want or be able to ask, and also to provide opportunities for training and mentorship for the next generation of cancer researchers.
ANZUP has been extremely busy since our last edition of UPdate. I have outlined some of the highlights but please read on to hear more about the breadth of activities we are currently involved in.
Annual Scientific Meeting 2011
ANZUP recently joined with COSA to coconvene the ANZUP/COSA Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) in Perth November 15-17, 2011. Despite the distance for many of us, and some unfortunate timing that meant many trainees could not attend, the meeting overall was very well attended. We had outstanding international and local speakers and the genitourinary cancer program was weaved seamlessly throughout the whole meeting. We also ran several satellite meetings including evening and breakfast sessions. Later in the newsletter you will read about our highly successful Clinical Professional Day held jointly with the COSA Urologic Oncology Group and convened by Shomik Sengupta. Many thanks to all our sponsors but in particular Amgen, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Sanofi, Pfizer and Pierre Fabre. It was particularly gratifying to be able to award inaugural ANZUP/ Novartis travel grants. Congratulations to the recipients: • Allan Ben Smith; • Arun Azad; • Andy Chuk Moon Won; • Damien Thomson; • David Smith; • Dixon Teck Sing Woon; • Genevieve Whitty; • George Au-Yeung; • Jennifer Thompson; • Kathryn Mary Schubach; • Pavel Sluka; and • Shomik Sengupta.
We are very grateful to Novartis for their untied educational grant to ANZUP to support this new initiative.
THe 2011 ANZUP/NOvArTIS TrAveL GrANT reCIPIeNTS SHOW THeIr APPreCIATION AFTer IAN DAvIS PreSeNTeD THeM WITH THeIr CerTIFICATe AND CHeqUeS AT THe CONFereNCe DINNer.
Membership and participation
ANZUP’s membership continues to grow and it is great to see such an eclectic mix of members. Please continue to promote the group to your friends, colleagues, institutions and professional organisations. Our recent activities have shown that we provide something for everyone and we are excited that this will continue into 2012 and beyond. Many new members are availing themselves of the opportunity to participate in our various subcommittees; ‘old’ members can do so as well!
A key part of our strategy is to look to the future and to ensure that we have good succession planning. Planned rotations of leaders of the various committees ensures that people stay fresh, that we do not exhaust people, and that we provide opportunities for new people to contribute. With this in mind we are identifying people who will take on the roles of chairs of the various committees in the future. We will stagger these changes over time to ensure that we retain the experience and memory of those who have contributed so strongly before. I encourage all of you to consider how you might participate in these various activities and lead ANZUP into the future.
Fundraising
ANZUP has recently secured ongoing funding from Cancer Australia’s Support for Clinical Trials Program. We are very grateful for this support which at the time of writing constitutes our major source of infrastructure revenue. However, we wish to continue to expand our activities and the funds from Cancer Australia will not be sufficient for this. ANZUP has now attained appropriate donor gift recipient and fundraising status in all Australian states and territories. This means that we can initiate more active fundraising initiatives although we will be careful not to overlap with existing related fundraising initiatives such as Cancer Council, Movember or PCFA. Our Fundraising and Promotion Committee continues to develop appropriate strategies for fundraising and donor opportunities. If you have any suggestions, ideas or wish to be involved please call (02) 9562 5033 or email us at Margaret@anzup.org.au. Donations over $2 are tax-deductible. For those among you who generate payments or honoraria for work with industry and who wish to have this at arms’ length due to ethical concerns: if you wish donate these funds to ANZUP then we can invoice on your behalf, and you might have greater peace of mind.
(continued) UPdate 1
First Announcement of our ASM
CALL FOR AbSTRACTS CLOSES MAY 1, 2012 Click here about Abstract Submissions
EARLY bIRD REGISTRATION CLOSES MAY 14, 2012
Click here about Registration
AUSTRAlIAN & NEw ZEAlAND UROGENITAl AND PROSTATE CANCER TRIAlS GROUP (ANZUP)
Annual Scientific Meeting
15-17 JULY 2012 • FOUR POINTS bY SHERATON, SYDNEY DARLING HARbOUR ‘State of the art multi-disciplinary care in urological cancers’
ANZUP/Novartis Travel Grants we are pleased to announce Novartis will be once again supporting the ANZUP/Novartis Travel Grants.
ANZUP Cancer Trials Group Ltd is pleased to announce its first stand alone Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) to be held at Four Points by Sheraton Sydney, 15-17 July, 2012.
The theme is “State of the art multi-disciplinary care in urological cancers” which will showcase the most up-to-date cancer treatment, research and education in prostate and other urogenital cancers. It will provide a forum for junior researchers to present new concepts; opportunity for all health professionals involved in urogenital cancer care and research, to network and share their knowledge; and to learn more about existing and planned ANZUP trials while encouraging involvement of and collaboration with, the various professional disciplines.
Highlights include:
• Presentations from leading international and Australian experts;
• ANZUP Trainee Day: Challenging cases in Uro-oncology, a
Multi-disciplinary Approach”;
• A Concept Development Session;
• A Translational and Research
Methods Session; &
• Community Engagement Forum.
INTERNATIONAL FACULTY CONFIRMED INCLUDE:
Dr Daniel Heng
Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Calgary Staff Medical Oncologist, Tom Baker Cancer Center Sponsored by Pfizer
Dr Donna berry
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Director, Phyllis F. Cantor Center for Research in Nursing and Patient Care Services, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Sponsored by CNSA & ANZUP
Prof Michel bolla
Professor, Department of Radiotherapy, Grenoble University Hospital, Grenoble, France Sponsored by IPSEN
Dr Shahrokh F. Shariat
Associate Professor of Urology & Assistant Professor of Medical Oncology Director, Bladder Cancer Outcomes and Translational Research weill Cornell Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital Sponsored by ANZUP For more information and updates please visit our ASM page at www.anzup.org.au.
Platinum Sponsor
ANZUP ASM Flyer 2012 v16.indd 1 Gold Sponsors Silver Sponsors Bronze Sponsors
www.anzup.org.au
1/05/12 5:27 PM
ANZUP Community Engagement Forum “A little below the belt”
Four Points by Sheraton, Sydney Darling Harbour Sunday 15 July 2012 12:30pm - 4:00pm Ballroom 2
The Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate (ANZUP) Cancer Trials Group invites you to attend our first Community Engagement Forum “A little below the belt”. This forum will provide information and the opportunity to discuss the importance of clinical trials and the impact that a diagnosis of a prostate, bladder, kidney or testicular cancer can have on a person and their family.
Entry is free, however booking is essential as seating is limited. RSVP by June 30, 2012 by registering online www.anzup.org.au or call 02 9562 5033 Further Information: Margaret McJannett, email: margaret@anzup.org.au
Group Membership:
As at 31 March 2012, ANZUP had 405 members covering a wide range of professional disciplines . The breakdown of membership was as follows:
Membership breakdown by discipline:
Medical Oncology: 100 Urologic Surgery: 83 Trial coordination and management: 41 Nursing: 39 Radiation Oncology: 30 Psycho-Oncology and Supportive care: 27 Scientists: 20 Trainee: 16 Consumer Advocacy: 15 Biostatistics: 7 Pathologists: 7 Clinical Epidemiology: 4 Pharmacist: 3 Endocrinologist: 3 Health economist: 3 Nuclear medicine: 2 Medical Physicist: 2 Fellows: 2 General practice: 1
Number of members by State/Territory in Australia:
