Cancer Trials: Better Treatments, Smarter Spending
Irish patients deserve access to tomorrow’s treatments, today.
For every hundred people who hear the words “you have cancer” in an Irish doctor’s office, only three or four will get onto an interventional clinical trial.
That’s not enough
— and it’s something we can change.
By adding your name below, you’re helping us push for the funding needed to open more cancer trials in Ireland. You’re standing up for every patient and every family who deserves access to the very best care.
Cancer trials save the health service money, improve patient outcomes, and bring new treatments to Ireland faster. Most of all, they bring hope to patients and families today, and create better options for tomorrow.
Add Your Voice
Why This Matters
More Options, More Hope
Cancer trials are how new medicines are developed – every cancer treatment available today started its life as a trial.
The evidence shows that patients do better on trials because they use new, potentially life-saving treatments – but also because of the extra care and oversight patients get when they’re on a trial.
People on trials have dedicated nurses on the end of a phone, they often get more tests, scans, and have more appointments with their doctor. All of this comes at no cost to the patient, or their health insurer.
The hidden value of cancer trials
Cancer Trials Ireland currently receives €1 million a year in government funding. This directly limits the number of trials we can open. Yet the trials themselves can save the HSE millions in patient treatment costs.
From 2023–2025, one blood cancer trial that recruited 52 patients saved the HSE over €3 million. At the same time, the trial delivered new treatment valued at more than €20 million. This is just one trial.
Not all trials generate savings on this scale, but every trial makes a difference. They ease pressure on the health service, improve patient outcomes, and give Irish patients access to new treatments that would otherwise cost millions.
Now is the time for the Government to build on these successes and reinvest by opening more trials, so that patients and families across Ireland can benefit.
Join Us to Make This Happen
This is our chance to give every cancer patient in Ireland the best care and the best chance, while strengthening our health system for the future – but it can only happen if enough of us speak up.
- We’re calling on the Government to increase funding for Cancer Trials Ireland. With more investment, we can open more trials, help more patients, and turn today’s savings into even more life-saving care year after year.
- Please add your name at the top of this page to send a clear message: Ireland needs more cancer trials, and the time to invest is now.
- Please share this petition with your family and friends.
