Improving preclinical and clinical oncology research through patient integration

Over the past few decades, patient centricity has evolved from an idea to a clearly defined component of cancer care, integrated into clinical practice: patients with cancer are now more involved in their care. The aim of this opinion article is to highlight the urgent need to involve them in preclinical and clinical research stages, across cancer types, ensuring their voices are heard, and their care needs are addressed as new and evolving cancer therapies are developed. The current oncology landscape makes patient integration particularly pertinent, as it is becoming more complex and technical, therefore creating a need for patient-level translation. This is combined with the rise of the patient voice and patients' increasing willingness to be involved in shaping research. Additionally, this article presents preliminary ideas, approaches, and current real-world initiatives to encourage greater patient integration in drug development. This article is based on the authors' experiences and is supported by a review of current literature, but it is not aiming to replicate existing comprehensive literature reviews on the subject of patient integration.