As of today, January 18th, the NCIC CTG has a new name - the Canadian Cancer Trials Group. Please note that email addresses and website url remain the same. In 2008, the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) re-consolidated its structure which led to the dissolution of the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) and discontinuation of the use of the name. For the past seven years, the group has been represented by an acronym without meaning. Recognized by those most familiar to us, the name did not identify key features of the group such as its Canadian national reach and cancer trial focus. Although there had been attempts to develop a new name and logo throughout the years, when I became Director in the fall of 2014, I sought to remedy this situation with the help of key stakeholders and with experts in branding/naming. Queen's University Relations was engaged to develop and lead a representative consultation process to find a new name and logo. We began this process in February 2015 with a document describing the proposed methodological approach followed up with a teleconference between NCIC CTG, CCS representatives and Queen's Marketing & Communications experts. In April/May/June, 9 focus groups with stakeholder representatives were led by the heads of Queen's Marketing and Communications. A comprehensive report along with recommendations was presented to the central office NCIC CTG senior staff in the fall. After a long process, with card card-body bg-light well planned methodology and very wide consultation with representatives from all our major stakeholder groups (9 focus groups and 1 international questionnaire), the Queen's University Marketing & Communications Departments gave us a recommended new name - the Canadian Cancer Trials Group. The process leading to our new identity can be found by clicking on the following link: NCIC CTG Identity Development The document describes the rationale, supporting data, and considerations for the recommendation. I think we can be proud of both the process and the result, which clearly describes who we are and what we do, and honours our past, present and future activities. Our group looks forward to continuing our tradition of collaboration, now under our new name, the Canadian Cancer Trials Group. Janet Janet E. Dancey, MD, FRCPC Director, Canadian Cancer Trials Group Edith and Carla Eisenhauer Chair in Clinical Cancer Research Professor, Department of Oncology, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
