The Colorado Cancer Research Program (CCRP) represents a consortium of thirteen community cancer centers located across Colorado. The CCRP geographic catchment area serves 80% of the states population. In 2005, the CCRP consortium institutions together diagnosed over 8,000 new cancer cases. During the past five years, CCRP entered over 1,600 patients into clinical trials;over 800 of these were enrolled in the prevention/cancer control trials. The CCRP research bases include the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP), the University of Rochester Cancer Center (URCC), the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG), the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) and the NCI Clinical Trials Support Unit (CTSU) mechanism. CCRP investigators are actively involved in the scientific and administrative activities of these organizations. The CCRP has strong physician leadership in its Principal Investigator, its Associate Principal Investigator, 13 hospitals, and 100+ members of CCRP Investigator Cohort. This core group represents the major treatment modalities and plays a key role in protocol evaluation, selection and implementation, and in patient management. The CCRP staff, supervised by an experienced Executive Director, includes clinical trial nurse coordinators, data management professionals, and quality assurance and regulatory professionals. CCRP has a proven history of clinical trials performance and feels confident of continued success. Our goals for next granting period are: (1) increased participation in cancer prevention, control and treatment clinical trials, especially among ethnic minorities, (2) expand systems to support quality communication, training and accountability within our expanding consortium members and participating investigators, and (3) increased clinical trials enrollment through deliberate marketing efforts to highlight the importance of clinical trials in meeting the NCI Challenge Goal-To eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer by 2015. These goals are relevant to CCRP's mission to keep hope and promise alive with the progress we make through cancer research, to advance cancer research through cancer clinical trials, and to bring the benefits of research to Colorado.
