The Medical College of Georgia (MCG) Minority-Based Community Clinical Oncology Program (MB-CCOP) proposal is designed to increase the availability of state-of-the-art treatment and cancer prevention and control research to minority individuals in their own communities. The establishment of an operational base for extending cancer clinical trials and cancer prevention and control trials in this part of Georgia is aimed to improve reduce cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality in minority populations. The grant describes the organizational and operational plans which will provide the structure of the effective implementation of multidisciplinary research. African-Americans comprise 42% of newly diagnosed cancer patients at MCG. The adult and pediatric cancer clinical trial programs at MCG have been successful at enrolling minorities to clinical trials (40% of patients entered are African-Americans). African-Americans, in general, are disproportionately affected by disparities in the health care system. They are often unaware of available health services, distrust the system, and harbor fears regarding screening and prevention studies. Our affiliation with the National Black Leadership Initiative against Cancer (NBLIC) is intended to break that barrier which will potentially lead to improving accrual to cancer treatment and prevention trials. Currently we have affiliation with NSABP, ECOG, and COG, and we also have access to CTSU trials. This application proposes to continue the participation in these research bases and describes the working relationships with these cooperative groups and the methods used to enable MCG MB-CCOP to accrue significant numbers of minority patients to both treatment and cancer prevention and control clinical trials. To increase access to cancer prevention and control studies we are in the process of adding H. Lee Moffitt CCOP and NCCTG as additional research bases. MCG will use the MB-CCOP as an opportunity to consolidate and expand the cancer prevention and control trials. We have good track records of enrolling minorities (40 to 50%) to industry sponsored prevention studies and we will use the MB-CCOP as a venue to have access to NCI sponsored prevention studies. Funding of this MBCCOP program will insure increased access and accrual of minorities to clinical trials, and expand outreach to minority populations and the medically underserved in our region.
| Barton, Debra L; Atherton, Pamela J; Bauer, Brent A et al. (2011) The use of Valeriana officinalis (Valerian) in improving sleep in patients who are undergoing treatment for cancer: a phase III randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study (NCCTG Trial, N01C5). J Support Oncol 9:24-31 |
