The Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center, a 1,094 bed multi-institutional system, and the center of the largest cancer program in the Rocky Mountain area, would like to establish a Community Clinical Oncology Program as described by RFA #10-NIH-NCI-DRCCA to coordinate the accrual of patients to clinical trials through cooperative multi-disease research bases.
The aims of this organization are: To join in the NCI effort to extend clinical research to community institutions and physicians, to enhance the knowledge of the latest developments in cancer treatment technology of community physicians, and to stimulate active participation by our community physicians as a cohesive group in national cancer control efforts. By establishing linkages with the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, the Gastrointestinal Tumor Study Group and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, our organization will: 1. Choose the protocols appropriate for our patient mix; 2. Disseminate the information on the content of the protocols and eligibility requirements to the participating physicians; 3. Register patients on the protocols; 4. Collect and abstract all necessary data with strict quality control measures; 5. Maintain all necessary followup; 6. Transmit the data to the research bases for tabulation and summary; 7. Participate in the evaluation of existing protocols and the development of new ones. We anticipate accruing an average of 150 patients per year for the three (3) year project period at an average direct cost of $597 per patient. The long-term objectives of this organization are to enhance care of all patients, to increase knowledge and collaboration on the part of health professionals in the Rocky Mountain region, and to serve as a resource for future quality controlled distribution of experimental anti-cancer agents and other cancer control programs. The Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center and our paticipating physicians already conduct substantial cancer control activities in Colorado, eastern Wyoming, western Kansas and Nebraska. Expanding our cancer control will enhance the NCI effort.