The Section is the statistical and data management component of the Clinical Oncology Program (COP). The Section provides statistical leadership and data management consultation for major activities of the Program, and is involved in the design, conduct, monitoring, and statistical analyses of intramural and national multicenter clinical trials of experimental treatments for cancer. The Section also is involved in the scientific monitoring of national, multi-center studies which are not funded by the NCI. Other major collaborative efforts include studies to identify important prognostic and treatment selection factors, evaluate diagnostic procedures, develop improved staging ssystems, and assist investigators in the design, execution, and analyses of major in vitro durg testing studies. The Section develops new statistical designs and biometric methods related to the devlopment and evaluation of new cancer treatments. Current research is focused on the evaluation of the person-years index to summarize the incidence of second neoplasms after initial cancer treatment, and the effects of early termination of the interpretation of clinical trial results. The Section maintains compuerized data collection systems for intramural and national multicenter clinical protocols, and it works closely with interested branches to improve data recording and retrieval. The Section provide liaison with the Clinical Center Medical Information System team and the Clinical Center Pharmacy, allowing COP input into decisions which directly impact patient care and protocol management. The Section assists the Deputy Clinical Director to insure adequate monitoring of protocols through the MIS Toxicity and Protocol Monitoring screens and other mechanisms.
