Real-Life Trials in Oncology Programme
Call for Applications 2026
A joint call between Gustave Roussy Foundation and CRIS Cancer Foundation.
Introduction
Clinical research represents the tool to explore and, more importantly, to validate the utility of medical strategies. Clinical trials include very different designs and require very different levels of infrastructure depending on the question they address. As an example, trials testing new drugs or new devices usually require a high level of infrastructure and, therefore, present a high cost per patient. These trials usually require a cost of around $20,000 per patient. At the other extreme, trials testing strategies without novel drug innovation require a lower level of infrastructure and data collection.
These trials could be called « real life trials » as they ask questions related to daily practice in oncology, do not require specific infrastructure, require a minimal amount of data collection, and have the potential to impact millions of patients worldwide. As an example, the lungRT trial sponsored by Gustave Roussy Foundation recently tested the impact of radiation therapy in resected stage III NSCLC. Getting an answer to this question is now translating into better practice for around 400,000 patients per year worldwide.
While these trials were abundant in the 90’s, their number is decreasing. This is partly due to the preference of centres to run trials investigating therapeutic approaches implicating a high level of innovation and mostly driven by pharmaceutical companies. But their number is also decreasing because investigators do not find funding to run such pragmatic trials. This latter reason is a paradox because these trials should theoretically have a very low cost. Investigators and clinical research operators often generate high budgets because they overload the trials with data acquisition, data management and clinical operations that are not necessary. As an example, most of the trials require extensive clinical exams or blood tests that are not helpful in addressing the primary endpoint and generate extra-costs.
This introduction therefore generates a rationale to develop a new generation of practicechanging or practice-informing trials that will require low-level infrastructure, minimal data acquisition and therefore minimal cost.
The Gustave Roussy Foundation and CRIS Cancer Foundation are calling for applications to their Real-Life Trials in Cancer Programme to support the development of practice-changing clinical trials in France and Spain.
Candidates must be specialist clinicians currently working in France and/or Spain with clinical research experience and with the potential to develop transformative clinical trials. The participation of patient associations in the development of the project will be valued. The aim of the Real-Life Trials in Cancer Programme is to provide competitive funding conditions to clinical researchers to develop their trials in France and Spain.
Definition of a Real-Life Trial (Pragmatic Trial)
A Real-Life Trial, also known as a Pragmatic Trial, is a type of clinical study designed to evaluate new treatment approaches under real world conditions that can be implemented in routine clinical practice across diverse healthcare settings.
Key characteristics include:
- simplicity
- affordability
- feasibility by utilizing minimal infrastructure and data collection.
- broad applicability, have the potential to change or inform practice across clinical settings and geography
- Broad Inclusion Criteria, include diverse patient populations to reflect real-world practice.
- straightforward inclusion and exclusion criteria
- endpoints that are directly relevant to patients
- the primary aim is to generate evidence that informs or changes cancer therapy or prevention practices on a large scale, ensuring practical utility and accessibility for widespread adoption.
- Cannot have any component of innovation.
Real-life trials avoid excessive complexity and focus on strategies that are cost-effective and impactful, addressing significant gaps in patient care without requiring high levels of technological innovation or resources.
Call for Applications
Every year, the Gustave Roussy Foundation and CRIS Cancer Foundation run a programme to Award Clinical Trial Proposals, as part of the Real-Life Trials in Cancer Programme. The purpose is to fund trials led by a pair of principal investigators (one in France (at Gustave Roussy Institute) and one in Spain).
The number of proposals to be funded will be decided after selection, depending on ranking and individual budget submitted. The maximum amount to be funded per project in the call is a range of €500.000-€750.000 for 3 years.
The programme invites applications from all specialist physicians who have a transformative clinical trial proposal and look for co-investigators in France or Spain to develop the trial.
The trial should run for a maximum of 3 years. In case of justifiable delay of the project, the principal investigators may ask for an extended period and the GRF-CRIS Committee will evaluate to confirm or deny the extension.
The call for applications opens on 15th April 2026 and closes on 16th June 2026 at 15 pm (Central European Time - CET).
Beneficiaries must accept their place on the programme between 1st January and 30th June 2027. The start date must be communicated to the Gustave Roussy Foundation and CRIS Cancer Foundation prior to that date. In duly justified cases of force majeure, this start date may be postponed, subject to individual assessment by GRF-CRIS
All applications must be submitted by filling the form https://forms.gle/Mw2MbchjASZjjAdj7 during the application submission period for the 2026 programme.
Contact information
In case the candidates or their institutions have any questions about the Real-Life Trials in Cancer Programme, they can e-mail to:
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