The National Cancer Institute has selected 27 sites to participate in a clinical trials network led by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to study new cancer drugs, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center was awarded a $17 million grant by the National Cancer Institute to lead the cancer immunotherapy trials network that will examine immunotherapy drug candidates. Clinical trial sites will be spread out across the U.S. and Canada.

Immunotherapies are a new field in cancer drugs that train the body’s defense system to attack cancer cells or prevent them from forming. The cancer immunotherapy trials network is expected to start trials in early 2012.