The proposed Greater Bay Area Community Clinical Oncology Program will seek to stimulate the delivery of optimal cancer treatment to community cancer patients in th North and East San Francisco Bay Area Counties. By consolidating and expanding three experienced Cooperative Group Oncology Program members, the CCOP will become a new regional network capable of helping NCI and cooperative clinical trial groups identify and test new treatments and cancer control hypotheses. With experience in accessing, minority populations,.the proposed CCOP will involve underserved and economicallv disadvantaged populations in both treatment and cancer control research studies which should not only improve cure rates, but will significantly add to the body of social science knowledge that should help reduce barriers to early detection and prompt effective treatment. The pediatric component of the CCOP will accrue 90% of all eligible cancer patients within its current referral base, and will expand its referral area through closer communication with all physicians participating in the CCOP. Since the CCOP will be built on the organizational and administrative foundations of former CCOP members, it will have the expertise to begin accruing patients immediately upon approval. Proven mechanisms and experienced personnel are in place to deal with protocol selection, submission to and review by hospital investigational review boards, randomization of patients and collection of data. The principal CCOP research base will be the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. Affiliation agreements have also been signed with the Children's Cancer Study Group, the National Surgical Adjuvant Project for Breast and Bowel Cancers, and the Northern California Cancer Program. In the first year of the program, participating physicians plan to accrue 164 patients to clinical research protocols, and an additional 30 patients to cancer control research protocols. Physicians in the CCOP plan to be actively involved in the activities of the research bases, and anticipate participation at group meetings, committee meetings, and in the development of future protocols. The CCOP will also plan and conduct educational programs to keep community physicians abreast of the latest therapeutic and cancer control research protocols from which their patients might benefit.
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