Every cancer patient who could benefit should have that opportunity
In the long effort to bring medicine's most promising frontiers within reach of every patient, Ireland finds itself at a crossroads: only 2.7 percent of cancer patients currently participate in clinical trials, against a national target of twice that figure. Angela Clayton-Lea, the newly appointed CEO of Cancer Trials Ireland, brings to this gap a career shaped by the lived reality of cancer treatment — and a conviction that access to tomorrow's therapies should not be a matter of geography or circumstance. With Ireland running 137 active cancer trials to Denmark's 280 for a comparable population, the distance between what is possible and what is available remains a quietly urgent human question.
- Ireland's cancer clinical trial participation rate of 2.7% sits at less than half the 6% national target, meaning thousands of patients may be missing access to treatments that could alter the course of their illness.
- The disparity with Denmark — 280 trials to Ireland's 137 despite similar population sizes — signals a structural deficit that cannot be closed by goodwill alone.
- Angela Clayton-Lea, drawing on years inside Ireland's radiotherapy and hospital systems, has stepped into the CEO role at Cancer Trials Ireland with a clear-eyed understanding of what the gap costs patients in real terms.
- Funding from the Health Research Board, the Irish Cancer Society, and philanthropic sources is being marshalled, but expanding trial availability requires sustained infrastructure investment and cross-sector coordination.
- On May 22, International Clinical Trials Day, CTI will host a free public webinar to demystify trials for patients and families — a step toward visibility while the deeper work of systemic expansion continues.
When Angela Clayton-Lea took the role of CEO at Cancer Trials Ireland in 2025, she carried with her years of experience inside the country's cancer treatment systems — from radiotherapy operations at St Luke's to senior leadership at Tallaght University Hospital. She understood, in precise and personal terms, what patients move through when they face cancer. What she found at CTI was a gap that troubled her.
Ireland currently runs 137 active cancer clinical trials. Denmark, with a broadly comparable population, operates more than 280. The difference matters because clinical trials are where the next generation of treatments — new drugs, surgical techniques, advanced radiotherapy, emerging medical devices — are made available before they enter standard care. Every medicine in use today was once a trial. For a cancer patient, enrollment can mean access to options that simply do not exist elsewhere.
Only 2.7 percent of Irish cancer patients currently participate in interventional trials. The National Cancer Strategy calls for 6 percent. Closing that gap means more than setting targets — it means building the infrastructure, securing the funding, and running the coordination required to double the number of trials available across the country. CTI draws support from the Health Research Board, the Irish Cancer Society, and philanthropic contributors, but the structural shortfall remains real.
To mark International Clinical Trials Day on May 22, CTI is hosting a free public webinar — 'Let's Talk Trials: All You Need to Know About Cancer Trials' — featuring voices from both clinicians and patients. It is an effort to make trials legible and accessible to those who might benefit. But for Clayton-Lea, the webinar is a gesture toward a larger ambition: that every Irish cancer patient who could benefit from a trial should, in time, have the genuine opportunity to enroll.
Angela Clayton-Lea arrived at Cancer Trials Ireland in 2023 with a particular kind of clarity. She had spent the previous four years as chief operating officer at Tallaght University Hospital, and before that, six years managing radiotherapy operations and serving as director of operational services for the St Luke's Radiation Oncology Network. She knew what cancer treatment looked like from the inside—the machinery, the protocols, the weight of it all on patients. When she was offered the role of CEO at CTI in 2025, she took it without hesitation.
What she found was a gap. Ireland currently operates 137 active cancer clinical trials. Denmark, a country with a comparable population, runs more than 280. The difference is not trivial. Clinical trials are where tomorrow's treatments live today—new drugs, novel surgical approaches, advanced radiotherapy techniques, medical devices that have not yet entered standard practice. Every medication in use now was once tested in a trial. For a patient with cancer, access to a trial can mean access to hope, and to therapies that might not otherwise be available to them.
Right now, 2.7 percent of Irish cancer patients participate in interventional clinical trials. The National Cancer Strategy sets a target of 6 percent. That gap—between what is and what should be—is what Clayton-Lea is working to close. It means doubling the number of patients who have the chance to enroll, which means expanding the trials themselves, which means resources and coordination and will.
Cancer Trials Ireland is funded in part by the Health Research Board and the Irish Cancer Society. Philanthropy fills other gaps. But the fundamental constraint is structural: Ireland simply does not have as many trials running as comparable healthcare systems. Clayton-Lea's clinical background—her years watching patients move through treatment protocols, understanding what they endure and what they hope for—informs her sense of urgency. Every cancer patient in Ireland who could benefit from a trial, she believes, should have that opportunity. Right now, they do not.
The organization is marking International Clinical Trials Day on May 22 with a free webinar called "Let's Talk Trials: All You Need to Know About Cancer Trials." It will feature perspectives from both doctors and patients, and registration is open through the Cancer Trials Ireland website. It is a small gesture toward visibility, toward helping people understand what trials are and what they might offer. But the real work is in the expansion itself—in building the infrastructure, securing the funding, and opening the doors that currently remain closed.
Citas Notables
Clinical trials offer patients hope and access to tomorrow's treatments today: new drugs, surgical techniques, advanced radiotherapy, and medical devices.— Angela Clayton-Lea, CEO of Cancer Trials Ireland
Every cancer patient in Ireland who could benefit from a trial should have that opportunity.— Angela Clayton-Lea, CEO of Cancer Trials Ireland
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
You've moved through several leadership roles before taking the helm at Cancer Trials Ireland. What made this particular position feel like the right one?
I've spent my career in cancer care—radiotherapy, hospital operations, the day-to-day reality of how patients move through treatment. When I saw the opportunity to lead CTI, I recognized it as a chance to affect something much larger than any single hospital or department. Clinical trials are where innovation actually happens.
The numbers you cite are striking. Ireland has 137 trials open, Denmark has 280 with a similar population. How did that gap form?
It's partly historical, partly structural. We haven't invested in building the trial infrastructure the way some peer nations have. It's not a failure of effort—it's a resource question, and a coordination question. But the consequence is real: Irish patients have fewer options.
You mention that every drug in use today came through clinical trials. But most patients never participate in one. Why is that access so unequal?
Trials require infrastructure, funding, and coordination. They're not easy to run. And there's also awareness—many patients don't know trials exist, or don't understand what they are. That's partly what the webinar is about.
The target is 6 percent participation. That still sounds quite low.
It is. But it's a realistic step forward from 2.7 percent. You have to start somewhere. The goal is to make sure that every patient who could benefit from a trial knows about it and has access to it.
What does your clinical background bring to this role that a purely administrative leader might not have?
I've watched patients go through treatment. I know what it costs them, what they hope for, what a new option means. That shapes how I think about access. It's not abstract.