The Florida Pediatric Community Clinical Oncology Program is a consortium of six Florida hospitals and one hospital in Puerto Rico. It is the longest functioning exclusively pediatric CCOP in the US. The CCOP has been continuously funded since 1983 and has the Children's Oncology Group (COG) and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center CCOP Research Base as its research bases. It is among the single largest contributor of patients to treatment and cancer control studies in COG over this 26 year period. The CCOP consistently has outstanding compliance scores and contributes to the administration and science of COG through its members who chair or co-chair research base protocols. The CCOP geographically covers the entire state of Florida and provides pediatric oncology care to the largest population centers in Florida, the fourth largest state in the country: Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Myers, and Hollywood Florida. The CCOP hospital in Puerto Rico services the entire island and the neighboring Caribbean islands and is the major contributor of minority patients to studies. The goal of the Florida Pediatric CCOP is to make available the latest advances in cancer care to patients in Florida and Puerto Rico through participation in clinical trials and to register the majority of their eligible patients on COG protocols, thereby providing quality care in patients'home communities. The Moffitt CCOP Research Base enhances the availability of cancer prevention and control studies. The CCOP provides a unique opportunity to study a geographically-defined population to investigate risk factors, patterns of care, and population-based interventions. The Florida Pediatric CCOP also maintains the CCOP Patient Log which affords the opportunity to ensure the majority of eligible patients are registered on appropriate COG protocols. Over 194 patient registrations are anticipated per year on COG treatment protocols and 38 on protocols approved for cancer control credits per year through the 7 Florida Pediatric CCOP participating centers. COG and Moffitt quality- control procedures apply uniformly to the Florida Pediatric CCOP, ensuring compliance with protocols and external review of pathology, radiotherapy, surgery, and chemotherapy.
The CCOP is the only mechanism for the majority of childhood cancer health care providers and cases in Florida and Puerto Rico to access cooperative group treatment and cancer control studies. It provides access to protocols, investigational drugs, quality assurance review and an opportunity to participate in cutting edge research that is not available otherwise in a community setting.
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