Abstract 4023: ACCESS: Advancing childhood cancer experience, science and survivorship in Canada

In Canada, roughly 1,500 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer each year. Advocacy for enhanced childhood cancer research and care in Canada by patients, families and the academic community led to a $23M investment through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to establish a national pediatric cancer consortium (termed ‘ACCESS’). ACCESS’ mission is to ensure every child with cancer in Canada has access to the latest scientific advances, diagnostic tools, therapies, and supportive care leading to better outcomes and quality of life. ACCESS is a unique collective of scientists, healthcare providers, industry leaders, partner organizations, advocates, patients, and their families who are conducting research, changing policy, and developing new tools to ensure better lives for children who experience cancer in Canada and for their loved ones. The goal is to implement transformative change in the delivery of fair, fast, effective, and safe cancer care for all children. ACCESS is driven and led by people with lived experience of pediatric cancer and framed by the patient journey. To date, ACCESS has unified a national community. It has: connected a community of more than 750 people and stimulated a culture of open communication in which diverse viewpoints, including those of people with lived experience of cancer, are sought and valued; built productive and effective partnerships to connect and leverage the work of organizations working to improve childhood cancer; initiated more than 20 new innovative pan-Canadian research studies that impact all aspects of the patient journey, including new Canadian-led clinical trials; developed an educational hub for all ACCESS members, and produced accessible communications materials such as webinars, a newsletter and a comprehensive website; developed national best practice standards and tools for research and care; started to address the complex policy, regulatory and practical barriers that prevent equitable access to cancer diagnosis and treatment for all children in Canada. Future priorities include achieving organizational sustainability, supporting collaborations and inclusivity, overcoming barriers that affect the access of children to diagnostics and treatment, enhancing data connectivity and sharing, and developing and implementing a national strategy for pediatric cancer. Citation Format: Stephanie A. Grover, Christine J. Williams, Adrienne Co-Dyre, David Malkin, James A. Whitlock, on behalf of the ACCESS network. ACCESS: Advancing childhood cancer experience, science and survivorship in Canada [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2025; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2025 Apr 25-30; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2025;85(8_Suppl_1):Abstract nr 4023.