[Clinical research in Germany at the example of oncology]

Abstract

Oncology is a major topic at many German universities. Research in oncology is funded by various programs of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the German Research Council, and by charities. Programs such as the foundation of coordinating centers for clinical research or the Program of Excellence of the German Cancer Aid to establish Comprehensive Cancer Centers in Germany shall improve the quality of clinical research in oncology. This is important because the 14th amendment of the German Medicines Law has markedly raised the standards for the design and conduct of clinical trials, accompanied by a substantial increase in costs. Consequently,the pharmaceutical industry plays an ever-increasing role in funding of clinical trials in oncology in Germany, but is mostly focused on the further development of their own products. In addition, research in clinical oncology often suffers from the fact that it takes a long time from the design of a trial to its publication, making it more difficult to achieve academic goals such as a habilitation. In the future, an improved training of medical doctors in clinical research and a further improved public funding structure for clinical research in oncology, e.g. by a National German Cancer Center,could be advantageous.