The specific aims of the New England Pediatric Oncology Consortium (NEPOC) are: Development and enhanced productivity of a consortium of regional pediatric cancer centers (Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital; Dartmouth University/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center; Harvard University/Massachusetts General Hospital; SUNY at Stony Brook/Children's Medical Center at Stony Brook; University of Vermont/Medical Center Hospital-Vermont Regional Cancer Center) for the purposes of: A. Contributing to the understanding and treatment of children and adolescents with malignancies through: 1. Input into national cooperative studies through membership in the Pediatric Oncology Group (POG): a. Patient accrual: Achieve significant number and quality of patient entries on protocols; b. Study development and evaluation: Assist in the development of new protocols through committee memberships, institutional reviews of proposed protocol designs, analysis of study results, and proposal of new protocols for POG implementation based on NEPOC studies; c. Administration: Accept responsibilities for POG administrative functions. 2. Cooperative efforts within NEPOC (New England Pediatric Oncology Consortium) in studies of joint interest in the areas of childhood malignancies, particularly toward developing potential pilot studies for POG. B. Enhancement of the care of children and adolescents with cancer in the geographical areas served by the member institutions through: 1. Assuring comprehensive and modern management of children and adolescents with malignancies as a benefit of membership in POG; 2. Sharing staff expertise and investigative facilities at each of the member institutions; 3. Joint efforts in promotion of education of the local community in the area of cancer in children and adolescents. Through a centralized administration, this Consortium integrates the activities and resources (staff, facilities, patients) at each institution into a single program aimed at achieving these goals.
