The Florida Pediatric Community Clinical Oncology Program is a consortium of four hospitals (All Children's Hospital, Jacksonville Wolfson Children's Hospital, Orlando Regional Medical Center, and Sacred Heart Children's Hospital) and the Puerto Rico Pediatric Oncology Program which seeks to affiliate with the Pediatric Oncology Group as its Research Base. Since 1983, the Florida hospitals have been federally supported as a CCOP affiliating with the POG. They complement the three major university teaching hospitals in the state which are also Pediatric Oncology Group members. These hospitals geographically cover the entire state of Florida. Since their catchment area includes patients referred from the Caribbean, the Puerto Rico Pediatric Oncology Program of San Juan, Puerto Rico has recently been added. The goal of the Florida Pediatric CCOP is to make available the latest advances in cancer care to patients in Florida and the Caribbean through participation in clinical trials. In addition, the CCOP members will actively participate in cancer control research protocols. They provide a unique opportunity to study a geographically-defined population to investigate risk factors, patterns of care and population-based interventions. The CCOP participants will utilize the existing Statewide Patient Information Reporting System as a log of all patients seen in this geographically-defined area. Patients will be registered on POG protocols through the Pediatric Oncology Group Statistical Office which is co-located with the Central Office of the Florida Pediatric CCOP. This unique arrangement affords the opportunity to ensure the majority of eligible patients are registered on appropriate POG protocols. Over 85 patient registrations are anticipated per year on POG treatment protocols and 29 on existing cancer control protocols per year through the five participating centers of the Florida Pediatric CCOP. POG quality control procedures will be extended to include the Florida CCOP, ensuring compliance with protocols and external review of pathology, radiotherapy, surgery and chemotherapy.
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