This proposal is provided in two sections - Section I presents the final progress for the previously funded program, UPMC McKeesport Radiation Oncology Community Outreach and Section II details the implementation plan in response to CA-09-502. Building on experience and lessons learned from the clinical trials infrastructure project, the new plan provides for aggressive implementation which will involve several strategies: 1) Advanced tracking mechanisms for clinical trials screening using an NCI-approved methodology implemented by the Singing River CDRP site;2) Initiation of a patient-centered model that provides support related to informed decision processes, interventions targeted at actual and perceived barriers to care working closely with the treating physicians and the clinical research coordinator (if recruited to trial);3) Implementation of an investigator-initiated clinical trial with shorter treatment course that may be more appropriate for the elderly and other underserved individuals;4) plans for collaboration with UPMC Cancer centers and other CDRP-funded sites to strategize and initiate application for CCOP program or similar consortium to sustain the programs beyond the funding period;and finally a commitment to serve as experts and mentors to other community sites serving disproportionate numbers of underserved in the United States.
The proposed project addresses disparate populations diagnosed with cancer in direct response to the funding announcement.
