Mater opens Ireland's first dedicated early phase cancer trials unit

START Dublin aims to recruit patients to cutting-edge studies and enhance the availability of new cancer drugs 

The country’s first dedicated early phase cancer trials unit has opened its doors.

START Dublin is a collaboration between the Mater Hospital, University College Dublin and the START Center for Cancer Research, based in San Antonio in the US.

START is the largest early phase oncology clinical trials network globally. Dublin is the eighth site in the global network of START centres, which has over 500 active studies ongoing across its US and European sites, partnering with over 150 pharmaceutical companies.

Consultant oncologist Dr Austin Duffy is the director of research and principal investigator in START Dublin: “About 30,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every year in Ireland, many of whom will at some point need access to new breakthrough cancer drugs as they emerge,” said Dr Duffy.

“Now that we have an early phase oncology clinical trials unit here in Dublin, we hope to offer patients access to new and promising drugs years before they might otherwise become available.”

Dr Duffy will be supported by a team of seven others initially in START Dublin and they hope to enrol approximately 50 patients onto trials within the first year of operations, rising to 300 patients in due course.

The Goodman Foundation supported the establishment of START Dublin, in addition to supporting a fellowship program for the training of future investigators, through a generous donation to the Mater Hospital Foundation.

Miriam Staunton, a melanoma patient advocate, said the opening of START Dublin is good news for patients: “Early phase trials are so important for Irish cancer patients. They offer an opportunity for patients who have been failed by the existing available treatments as well as feeding a pipeline of later phase trial activity for a larger cohort of patients.

“Those of us who are the beneficiaries of the recent huge strides in cancer treatments know how important it is to support ongoing research and development of new treatments. I am so happy to see this dedicated unit opening here in the Mater.”