Support is requested to permit the University of California, Los Angeles, Center for the Health Sciences (UCLA/CHS) and its affiliated hospitals and physicians to continue participation as a full member in the scientific efforts of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG). UCLA/CHS affiliated hospitals include Olive View Medical Center (OVMC), Wadsworth Veterans Administration Medical Center (WVA), and Harbor General Hospital (HGH), and will be referred to as the University. The University entered SWOG as a probationary member in May 1990 with full membership status established in October 1991. Using the SWOG group mechanism as a multidisciplinary focus for clinical cancer research, the University's objectives include: (1) continue to further strengthen clinical cancer investigations at the University and within the NCI designated Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC); (2) bridge the expertise in translational research within the University to strengthen SWOG's scientific efforts; (3) become major patient contributors to the group's phase III and multimodality studies with special emphasis on recruiting minority patients to clinical trials; and (4) enhance accrual by expanding the current University CGOP relationships to include the recently established UCLA/JCCC Network sites. Specifically, the University's aim is to continue its clinical research leadership by developing appropriate proposals in its areas of expertise, utilizing the University's translational and clinical strengths as they apply to: (1) the use of biological agents, products of molecular genetics, combination cytokine therapy, gene therapy, and cellular adoptive immunotherapy, in the treatment of solid tumors; (2) integrate the JCCC Clinical Program Areas of (A) leukemia (lymphoma, myeloma), BMT, and (B) solid tumor oncology, into the three specific aims noted above; and (3) enhance the SWOG program by using UCLA/JCCC expertise in cancer control, quality of life issues including minority initiatives in breast cancer and lung cancer, survivorship issues for lymphoma patients, and behavioral modification programs. Lastly, the diverse sociocultural atmosphere of Southern California, particularly at OVMC and HGH, provides the University with a large minority patient population. This, along with the designation of UCLA/CHS as a NCI designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, attracts patients seeking new therapeutic modalities and clinical trials and provides a large pool of patients for these studies.
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