Contact: Ellen Bank
843.792.2626
July 1, 2005
CHARLESTON -- The Hollings Cancer Center has established a Research Network to expand the center's clinical trials program across the state. This unique program establishes the infrastructure for bridging access to cancer clinical trials across the state and enables sites to share resources and work together in delivering quality clinical trials.
The first partners to join the network are The Regional Medical Center of Orangeburg and Calhoun Counties and South Carolina Oncology Associates in Columbia.
"This is a win-win situation for the participating centers, the Hollings Cancer Center a nd ultimately everyone in South Carolina," said Carolyn Reed, M.D., clinical director of outreach at the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston.
A recent panel report to the National Cancer Institute indicated that there are a lot of discoveries in the area of cancer therapy that unfortunately are not reaching the patients who can benefit from them. About 20 percent of cancer patients in the United States are medically eligible for clinical trials, but only three percent actually enroll in these potentially beneficial programs, according to Reed. The primary reason for this is that clinical trials for the most part are conducted through academic medical centers, while 80 percent of cancer patients are treated by community oncologists. In South Carolina, the Research Network can play a crucial role in breaking down this access barrier by fostering partnerships between community medical centers and the academic medical center in Charleston.
The partnerships will provide cancer patients in South Carolina access to new and innovative cancer treatments that are not yet available to the general public. Patients will be able to access treatment in their own community, seeing their own doctors, remaining close to their families and avoiding transportation problems and other inconveniences associated with having to come to Charleston for treatment under a clinical trial protocol.
Doctors at the participating centers will have the opportunity to participate in innovative clinical trials developed by Hollings Cancer Center physicians. The larger centers already have access to national clinical trials, but the smaller centers will be able to pursue an affiliate membership through the Hollings Cancer Center in National Cancer Institute cooperative groups such as the Southwest Oncology Group and the National Surgical and Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project. This affiliation not only provides access to member-only trials, but also to opportunities for scientific enrichment and academic collaborations with cancer specialists from across the country.
Doctors and other healthcare professionals in the partner centers will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of seminars, conferences, and internet-based education programs through affiliation with the Hollings Cancer Center.
For the smaller centers, that don't already have established research program, the Research Network also provides the doctors and study coordinators guidance and support to promote a successful clinical trials program.
The network will help the Hollings Cancer Center expand its clinical trial program by providing a larger patient base. As more and more centers across the state join the network, the number of patients available for participation in clinical trials increases. "When we seek support for conducting clinical trials, we need to show we have sufficient numbers of participants," said Reed. "Our network of partners will greatly expand our potential participant base and enhance South Carolina's ability to attract additional resources and opportunities to promote cancer research."
The Hollings Cancer Center has for the past few years been positioning itself to achieve the status of an NCI-designated cancer center. Many of the requirements for this elite designation are already in place and the clinical trials network with its emphasis on community based collaboration will strengthen the center's case for NCI designation.
"We are very pleased to be able to provide South Carolina with this network," said Reed.
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