Aim: Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) have the highest melanoma and NMSC rates globally; with 14,000 melanoma diagnosis/year in Australia alone. The ANZ Melanoma Trials Group (ANZMTG) aims to accelerate research progress by connecting and supporting passionate investigators to facilitate and develop concepts, conduct research, and promote clinically-relevant findings at a faster pace than is possible through single institutions.
Methods: ANZMTG is the national cancer collaborative research group developing quality, investigator-initiated trials (IIT) addressing unmet clinical questions in melanoma and NMSCs. To achieve this, a culture of collaboration is required to bring these trials to fruition.
Through clinically-relevant research, we can improve the lives of people with melanoma and NMSC, by considering research questions like causes and prevention, and ways to improve diagnosis, treatment and care of early to late-stage disease. Our research ranges from registry-driven research and small pilot studies to large international, randomised IITs.
All of these trials are supported by rigorous design and coordination processes that ensure the appropriate conduct and oversight. By prioritising valuable research questions, we can maximise the potential to improve patient outcomes, accelerate progress and add value to our health system.
Results: ANZMTG has recruited a total of 3,343 patients to its trials, including 595 to 11 currently-recruiting IITs from 27 hospitals in 9 countries: RTN2 (43/100), EAGLE FM (85/150), RADICAL (74/266), Hair Spare Substudy (9/15), CombiRT (7/30), CHARLI (2/72), STOP-GAP (104/614), CARPETS (6/10), Skin Cancer Prevention (265/892), iMOVE Survey (55), and MEL-SELF (0/100).
Conclusions: ANZMTG exists for one purpose: to support high-quality, investigator-driven research to reduce impact of melanoma and NMSC, and improve outcomes for people affected by these cancers. We will provide an update on 11 currently-recruiting IITs coordinated by ANZMTG; to which many clinicians, consumers and researchers from the melanoma community have contributed to. It takes collaboration from clinicians, hospitals and patients from around ANZ to achieve these important outcomes.