The Wichita Community Clinical Oncology Program (WCCOP), established and funded by the National Cancer Institute in 1983, continued in 1987, 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005, is a city-wide cooperative program of the major community hospitals, the majority of Wichita's oncologists (19) and five medical oncologists from Lawrence, Kansas. During the past four years, the WCCOP averaged 300 credits per year on treatment protocols. Additionally, the WCCOP has achieved the goal of expanding cancer control trial accrual to exceed treatment accrual with an average of 456 cancer control credits per year over the past four years. The WCCOP plans to continue an annual accrual of 350 credits on treatment protocols and 400 new credits on cancer control protocols using six research bases: the Southwest Oncology Group, North Central Cancer Treatment Group, Eastern Cooperative Group, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project, University of Rochester Cancer Center, and the Gynecologic Oncology Group as well as the Cancer Trials Support Unit.
The specific aims of the WCCOP are: (1) to stimulate quality medical care through participation in treatment protocols for cancer patients in Wichita, south-central, southwest and northeast Kansas, a patient population that would otherwise be unserved because its geographical location is remote from comprehensive cancer centers;(2) to increase accrual of patients on adult NCI treatment and cancer prevention and control protocols and thus reduce the time necessary to answer critical questions and at the same time speed the transfer of the latest research findings to the community level;(3) to continue to assure quality and timely data collection while also continually implementing measures to protect clinical trial participant safety;(4) to continue to facilitate the involvement of underserved Kansas minority and rural populations in treatment and cancer prevention and control research. With a track record as a successful CCOP for 26 years, and over 5,000 new cancer patients each year, the WCCOP has the necessary expertise and commitment to continue successful therapeutic treatment and cancer prevention and control research efforts. '7 '-
In 2009, about 562,340 Americans, including over 5,000 Kansans, are expected to die of cancer. Clinical trials translate basic scientific research results into better ways to prevent, diagnose, and/or treat cancer. Increasing participation in clinical trials will provide the critical answers being asked much faster. The Wichita CCOP has a proven history of high accrual to cancer clinical trials and therefore has, and wishes to continue to contribute to the reduction of cancer-related co-morbidities and deaths currently experienced.
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