Call for accelerated rare cancers pathway

Australia should establish a Rare Cancer Therapies Access Accelerator (RaCTAA) as part of a series of reforms to improve access and outcomes for patients, says a new report from Rare Cancers Australia (RCA).

“We need a proactive approach to getting the right clinical trials and treatments here in Australia,” RCA CEO Christine Cockburn told Pharma in Focus before the launch of the report, From Rare to Recognised: The changing Story of Cancer, in Canberra today.

The establishment of a RaCTAA should include the appointment of a National Clinical Lead for Rare Cancers to spearhead research, clinical trial and reimbursement activity, the establishment of a dedicated rare cancer therapies pathway to support accelerated regulatory assessment and earlier access to therapies, and the establishment of a national rare cancer registry, integrating clinical, genomic, real-world and patient-reported data, the report says.