Tucked away behind Botterell Hall, a distinguished team of doctors, scientists, biostatisticians and staff work every day to fight cancer. Their discoveries have improved thousands if not millions of lives worldwide.

But chances are you wouldn’t know anything about their work from their organization’s former name: NCIC CTG.

That’s about to change with the adoption of a new identity. Starting today, the only cooperative group in this country conducting the full range of cancer trials will be known as the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG).

“The new identity clearly describes who we are and what we do, while at the same time honouring our past, present and future activities,” says Janet Dancey, Scientific Director, CCTG. “For more than three decades, our group has worked tirelessly to answer the most important question every cancer patient has: ‘What’s the best treatment for me?’ We look forward to fulfilling that role for years to come as the Canadian Cancer Trials Group.”

Established in 1980 as the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group, the organization was commonly known by its acronym, NCIC CTG. The organization’s core funder – the Canadian Cancer Society – and the group’s senior leadership identified the need to re-evaluate the identity to better reflect its mission and mandate as well as raise its profile among external audiences and key stakeholders. 

“The Canadian Cancer Trials Group has a worldwide reputation for its scientific excellence in the fight against the disease,” says Dr. Richard Reznick, Dean, Queen’s Faculty of Health Sciences. “The new identity and name will serve to bring more attention to this group, which is an important contributor to Queen’s research prominence.”

CCTG worked with University Relations at Queen’s to develop the new name and identity. University Relations conducted numerous focus group sessions with a variety of stakeholders in order to identify common themes and shared ideas upon which to base the new identity and name.

For more than three decades, our group has worked tirelessly to answer the most important question every cancer patient has: ‘What’s the best treatment for me?’ We look forward to fulfilling that role for years to come as the Canadian Cancer Trials Group.
— Janet Dancey, Scientific Director, CCTG

“We are proud of both the process and the result,” Dr. Dancey says. “This exercise not only helped us come up with a new identity, but the feedback and input we received will be invaluable as we seek to tell our story and demonstrate the impact we are having on the world stage.”

The group is internationally recognized, running trials in 40 countries and partnering with researchers around the world. Last year, CCTG launched an international trial that has a good chance of finding a cure for the biggest cancer killer in North America: non-small cell lung cancer. CCTG has already redefined the medical standard of care for breast, lung, colon, lymphoma, prostate, brain and ovarian cancers. It has been financially supported by the Canadian Cancer Society since its inception. Visit the CCTG website to learn more.