The overall objective of this proposal is to support the participation of the City of Hope National Medical Center (COH) in the investigational clinical trials of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG). The COH, an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, has supplied strong leadership for the clinical research activities of SWOG during the past six years. SWOG members at COH have provided substantial scientific input into the development of new therapeutic programs for hematological malignancies as well as all aspects of high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell support for the group;in addition, expertise in oncologic pharmacology, cytogenetics, immunotherapy, genitourinary cancers, and gynecologic pathology and tumor biology will continue to support pilot protocol development for SWOG as well as participation in group-wide Phase II and Phase III studies. SWOG members from COH also contribute substantially to research activities in oncologic surgery and cancer prevention. COH physicians and scientists have increased their leadership activities within SWOG during the current funding cycle, adding the chairmanships of the Genitourinary Committee's Testis Cancer Subcommittee and the newly formed Early Therapeutics Committee to continuing service as chairs of the Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation Committee, and the Gynecology Committee's Pathology and Tumor Biology Subcommittees. In addition to these leadership positions, the scientific productivity of COH investigators within SWOG has continued to increase. At the time of the last competitive review of COH's participation in SWOG, 9 COH investigators had published 18 papers and 14 abstracts reporting SWOG clinical investigations;over the past six years, 12 COH investigators have published 31 papers and 28 abstracts describing SWOG research in high-quality, peer-reviewed publications. Based on the presence of a dedicated, multidisciplinary team of physicians in Pathology, Surgical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, and Cancer Control as well as Medical Oncology, Experimental Therapeutics, and Hematology who are committed to the investigations pursued by SWOG, substantive scientific leadership of and patient accrual to SWOG clinical trials by the COH can be predicted to continue over the coming funding cycle. Furthermore, participation by the COH in the innovative treatment concepts devised by SWOG will broaden the availability of investigational cancer care in the greater Southern California region.
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