How the Alliance works
Every breakthrough begins with a question. Can a treatment work better? Can disease be prevented or detected earlier? Can we improve quality of life?
For more than 65 years, the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology has been turning questions into collaborative clinical research that has fundamentally changed how cancer is prevented, detected, treated, and navigated.
By bringing together more than 26,000 physicians, researchers, nurses, statisticians, and other healthcare professionals across 112 member institutions and 1,400 affiliated medical centers, the Alliance transforms important scientific questions into practice-changing clinical trials that ultimately lead to better cancer treatments.
A collaborative structure supporting groundbreaking clinical trials
As part of the National Cancer Institute’s National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) and a leading Research Base for the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), the Alliance helps change standards of care, inform national treatment guidelines, and improve the lives of countless people affected by cancer.
Leadership & Administration
Alliance leadership sets direction, provides oversight, and ensures accountability. Alliance is led by a Group Chair and Principal Investigator and governed by a Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
Committees
Committees provide scientific direction by setting research priorities, evaluating trial concepts, and guiding the development of studies. Alliance’s disease- and modality-focused committees are populated by experts across disciplines.
Programs
Programs support committees and member institutions across the research lifecycle to develop and execute trials. Five core programs, supported by the Office of the Group Chair, provide the infrastructure and expertise that bring Alliance clinical trials to life.
Members
Alliance members enroll patients and conduct trials. Members are institutions that actively contribute investigators, patients, and expertise to the conduct of Alliance clinical trials.
From concept to clinical trial
An overview of how Alliance clinical trials are developed, including NCTN and AFT pathways, from concept through activation.
