Background of the NWSTC

Aims of the centre:

The North West Surgical Trials Centre (NWSTC) is one of five Royal College of Surgeons of England (http://www.rcseng.ac.uk/) (RCS) Surgical Trials Units which have been established during 2013.

Core funding from the RCS and Cancer Research UK has been provided to support the development of new surgical trials. The NWSTC is a collaboration between University of Liverpool and the University of Manchester and through their trials units, Liverpool Cancer Trials Unit and the MAHSC unit. The NWSTC is embedded in the LCTU and aims to:

• Develop and deliver world class surgical trials (including translational research) that will improve the outcomes for surgical patients
• Develop and provide training for new surgical Chief Investigators and maximise recruitment into surgical trials.
• Make access to clinical trials easier for patients
• Developing reliable data on surgical trials
• Developing a North West surgical trainee collaborative

Mission Statement

• To be a world class surgical trials unit that improves the outcomes for surgical patients
• To develop and train a new cadre of surgical CIs
• To maximise recruitment into surgical trials
• To design, conduct and lead high quality surgical trials, including translational studies
• To undertake methodological research in surgery trials

Priorities of the Centre

• Widening surgical and patient trial engagement
• Increasing surgical recruitment
• Developing and obtaining funding for new surgical trials
• Developing new surgical CIs
• Developing research active surgical units nationally
• Developing education and training of surgical trials workforce

Expertise

The NWSTC in collaboration with the LCTU and MAHSC provides advice and support on all aspects of trial design and management, including:

• Grant Applications
• Sponsorship, contracts
• Protocol writing and Case Report Form Design
• Ethics and Regulatory Submissions
• Database development
• Site selection and set-up
• Data management and IT requirements
• Monitoring
• Oversight Committee organisation and report writing
• Statistical Analysis and methodology
• Publications
• Site Closure and Archiving
• Translational sub-studies