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Clinical trials allow us to break global ground and challenge traditional models of cancer care to create space for new possibilities rather than just treating the disease.


How we’re leading the way

Radiation Medicine: 
With the largest single-site radiation medicine program in North America and the only site in the world with two MR-guided radiotherapy options (Magnetic Resonance-guided Radiation Therapy and MR-Linac Unity), the program administered over 88,000 radiation therapy treatments in 2019. 

Surgical Oncology: 
With 75 cancer surgeons spanning 13 disciplines of cancer including, breast, dentistry, hepatobiliary (liver and gall bladder), gynecology, neuro-oncology, ocular oncology, plastic reconstructive, sarcoma, upper and lower GI oncology and urological-oncology, the breadth of the department is unique in North America. 

Medical Oncology and Hematology (DMOH): 
As the largest medical program in the country, it is widely known for its innovation in clinical trial design and its ability to translate innovation and research from the lab to the bedside. It has earned an international reputation for work in different fields including, new drug development, cancer genomics and immunotherapy.  

Supportive Care: 
This program is internationally recognized with a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, educators and researchers aligned across the divisions of Palliative Care, Psychosocial Oncology and Cancer Rehabilitation and Survivorship. The Princess Margaret has the only cancer rehab program in Canada and is home to the Global Institute for Palliative, Psychosocial and End-of-Life Care (GIPPEC) with academic partnerships in more than 20 countries.

Read Rob’s story

I was fortunate enough to be cancer free for 22 years

Rob M.

The Princess Margaret’s Cancer Clinical Research Unit (CCRU)

Approximately 1 in 5 patients at The Princess Margaret are enrolled in a clinical trial - 23% - which exceed the provincial level of 8% and almost double the national averages of Canada, the US and the UK. The Princess Margaret has the largest cancer clinical research program in Canada and one of the largest in North America with over 775 active clinical trials, opening over 150 new clinical trials each year. In 2019, 73 of them using immunotherapy.

Behind the scenes there are 450 clinical research staff and 200 principal investigators reaching between ensuring we can offer our patients clinical trials.  The Cancer Clinical Research Unit (CCRU) is the central resource dedicated to supporting clinical research and providing the complex leadership, oversight and risk management infrastructure related to clinical research and trials.  
 
CCRU is also a critical training hub, providing clinical research education within The Princess Margaret and also delivering hundreds of online training sessions annually for new and experienced investigators across Canada and for learners in nations including the United States, Hong Kong and Brazil. Our Correlative Studies Program is one of the few globally that works alongside clinicians to request, collect, process and ship clinical trial specimens, giving us the platform to develop and concentrate exceptionally well-trained research staff.
200+
investigators
700
active clinical trials
150
new trials every year

The largest program in the country

Together, we can Conquer Cancer In Our Lifetime