Translating research into clinical practice: deliberations from the American Association for Cancer Research

Translational research is difficult to define but recognizable to all who engage in it. Academic medical centers struggle to participate effectively, in contrast to the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry, which are designed for nothing else. The process of translational research can be viewed as a cycle with defined phases and identifiable checkpoints. From the original hypothesis, through early scientific testing, investigators with different skill sets are required to move a fundamental observation through preclinical tests of clinical relevance then ultimately into the clinic. The various investigators must be able to organize effective research teams, whose compositions will differ as one moves closer to treating patients. Each phase, from discovery through application, has a set of barriers that can be summarized as culture, human resources/education, infrastructure, and regulatory. At a retreat of the Clinical Translational Research Committee of the American Association for Cancer Research, many of the issues facing academic centers were discussed and several recommendations are summarized here.