The AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC) was established in 1995 to evaluate clinical interventions for the treatment and prevention of malignancies in HIV and to investigate the biology of malignancies in the context of Clinical trials. Since then, the AMC has conducted 31 clinical trials involving 1934 patients with primarily HIV related malignancies, 991 (51%) enrolled since the beginning ofthe current grant cycle in 2006. Twelve studies are currently enrolling patients or are in late stages of protocol development. Several key scientific findings have emerged from AMC studies that have led to improvements in the treatment or management of patients and has helped establish the current standard of care in some cases. The group has more than doubled the number of its publication in the current cycle compared to its first 10 years. In addition, the AMC has initiated a process to include subjects with HIV-associated cancers in resource poor countries where the epidemic of HIV and cancer has grown substantially. The participation of many of the key clinical and laboratory researchers in AIDS malignancies in the USA has made the AMC the principal clinical trials group in the world dedicated to improving the treatment and prevention of cancers in this population. The scientific work of the group is focused in 4 disease-specific and one laboratory working groups;Kaposi's sarcoma, Lymphoma, Human Papillomavirus, Non-AIDS defining Cancers (NADC), and Laboratory and Translational Sciences Working Groups. In addition 3 resources committees support the work ofthe group;International, Outreach, Education and Recruitment and Laboratory (which oversees core labs in pharmacology, pathology, virology, biomarkers and developmental therapeutics). An Operations and Data Management Center (ODMC) at The EMMES Corporation, a Statistical Center at the University of Arkansas, and the Group Chair's Office at UCLA also support the AMC. Decision making authority is vested in the Group Chair and the Executive Committee (EC) with the Steering Committee providing scientific input and advice to the EC. The AMC consists of 8 core sites (including 3 combined city units) and 16 affiliated domestic sites. We are also in the process of establishing a network of international sites in resource-poor countries of Africa.
Cancer has been recognized as one of the clinical manifestations of AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic, and despite improvements in mortality with potent antiretrovial therapy, cancer remains a leading cause of morbidity and morbidity in the developed and resource limited areas of the world. The spectrum of these cancers in HIV is quite diverse and many NADC are becoming more widely recognized. The AMC is one of the few organizations worldwide that is dedicated to the study of malignancies in HIV.
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