Driving progress through international collaboration
Cancer knows no geographic boundaries, and advancing cancer research requires collaboration across them. International partnerships allow researchers to scientific expertise, expand access to broad patient populations, study rare cancers that may be difficult to investigate within a single country, and strengthen the evidence needed to improve cancer prevention, treatment, and care.
The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology works with international investigators, institutions, and cooperative research groups to extend the reach of clinical research beyond the United States and Canada. Through these collaborations, the Alliance brings high-quality research to broader patient populations while strengthening scientific exchange and advancing opportunities for discovery.
International research collaborations are supported through the Alliance International Collaborations program. For non-governmental, international clinical trials, the Alliance also works with Alliance Foundation Trials (AFT).
Depending on the study and partnership, international research may involve individual institutions, regional research networks, or established cooperative oncology groups. The Alliance works with these partners to support the operational, regulatory, and scientific requirements needed to participate in clinical research.
International institutions and research organizations may participate as Alliance members or as collaborators on specific research projects.
- International member institutions: Institutions that meet Alliance membership requirements and participate as members of the research network.
- International collaborators: Regional cooperative groups, research networks, or individual institutions that partner with the Alliance on specific studies or research initiatives.
International clinical research requires coordination across different regulatory, ethical, and legal frameworks. The Alliance works with international partners to support study activation and ensure that research is conducted in accordance with applicable requirements. This may include:
- Supporting the regulatory and ethical review process required for study participation
- Coordinating study activation and other operational requirements
- Working with international sites to address country-specific requirements while maintaining consistency with the study protocol
High-quality clinical research depends on consistent data collection and reporting across participating sites. International collaborators follow the study’s established data-management, reporting, and patient-safety requirements, supported by the Alliance’s statistical and data-management infrastructure.
These standardized processes help ensure that data collected across countries can be integrated and analyzed appropriately while maintaining the quality and integrity of the research.
The Alliance also collaborates with established international oncology research organizations and cooperative groups. These partnerships bring together complementary scientific expertise, clinical networks, and patient populations and can expand the reach of Alliance research.
Examples of Alliance international collaborators have included Breast Cancer Trials (Australia and New Zealand), Fondazione Michelangelo (Italy), German Breast Group (GBG), SOLTI (Spain and Portugal) and Unicancer (France).
Through international partnerships, the Alliance continues to expand opportunities for collaboration and bring together researchers, institutions, and patient communities to advance cancer research. International collaboration strengthens cancer research by:
- Expanding research populations: Including patients from different countries can broaden the reach of clinical studies and may help address research questions that are difficult to study within a single country.
- Sharing Expertise: Collaboration brings together investigators with different scientific, clinical, and regional perspectives, creating opportunities for new approaches and discoveries.
- Studying uncommon cancers and patient populations: Broader research networks can make it possible to study rare diseases, uncommon tumor characteristics, and populations that may otherwise not be represented in clinical research.
- Extending the impact of research: Collaborating across countries helps ensure that promising research findings can be evaluated across broad healthcare settings and patient populations.
International collaborations is an established part of the Alliance clinical research portfolio. Examples of Alliance studies that have involved international collaborators include:
- A021502 – Randomized trial evaluating adjuvant chemotherapy with out without atezolizimab for patients with stage III colon cancer and deficient DNA mismatch repair.
- A031102 – Phase III studyl comparing conventional-dose versus high-dose chemotherapy as first salvage treatment for relapsed or refractory germ cell tumors.
- A211801 (BRCA-P): International phase III study evaluating the preventive effect of denosumab in women with BRCA1 germline mutations.
- A221405 – Study evaluating pregnancy outcomes and the safety of interrupting endocrine therapy in young women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer who desire pregnancy
- N1048 – Phase II study evaluating neoadjuvant FOLFOX with selective use of chemoradiation for locally advanced rectal cancer.
- N0577 – Phase III intergroup study comparing radiation therapy with temozolomide versus radiation therapy with PCV chemotherapy for patients with 1p/19q co-deleted glioma.
Study status and participating institutions may change over time. Please refer to the current ClinicalTrials.gov record for the most up-to-date information about each study.
To learn more about international collaboration opportunities or discuss a potential partnership, contact the Alliance International Collaborations team at International@AllianceNCTN.org.
- NCI Investigator Resources: Investigators interested in participating in NCI-sponsored clinical research can visit the NCI Investigator Resources website.
- Federalwide Assurance (FWA): Information about obtaining a Federalwide Assurance is available through the Office of the Human Research Protections (OHRP).