Cancer researchers call for urgent investment in UK clinical trials

Data for England reveal 60 per cent drop in cancer patients entering trials throughout pandemic

A leading research institute has called for urgent investment in cancer clinical trials after the number of patients taking part in the studies plummeted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Figures published in a report by the Institute of Cancer Research show that the number of cancer patients entering clinical trials in England fell by nearly 60 per cent during the first year of the pandemic—to just 27,734, down from an average of 67,057 over the previous three years.