The main focus of the research activity of the Network Clinical Research Group of the Istituto Oncologico Veneto (Oncology 2 Unit) is the implementation of real-world studies in oncology collecting data from routine clinical practice, either prospectively or retrospectively, thus representing a crucial tool in the monitoring of diagnostic-molecular pathway and the prescription of new anticancer drugs.
The final aim of the research is to test which molecular tests and medications are most appropriate for certain patients, leading to individualized care and improved outcomes.
An innovative strategy for clinical studies design developed by this research group is the integration of data from clinical practice with those from health administrative datasets and randomized clinical trials and/or expanded access programs in order to provide useful information for different stakeholders (patients; clinicians; regional and national health system).
Several research programs are currently under development, particularly in metastatic breast cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, PARP-inhibitors and CDK-inhibitors, and lung cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors and EGFR/ALK/ROS1-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors.