The CALGB is comprised of 26 academic medical centers and over 170 affiliated community hospitals joined in the pursuit of improved cancer treatment and an improved knowledge of tumor biology via controlled clinical trials. Over 2000 members of the group including physicians, statisticians, data managers, nurses, pharmacists, epidemiologists, and basic scientist; participate in these trials. From 25-35 phase III protocols are active at any one time, along with Phase II, Phase I and pilot studies required for the appropriate design of major randomized trials. In 1991 the CALGB accrued over 5,300 entries to its protocols. Multidisciplinary disease committees of the group design and implement protocols for the treatment of patients with leukemia, lymphoma, breast, respiratory and GI cancer. A GU Working Committee is responsible for a limited investigation of GU cancers using support from the pharmaceutical industry. The membership of these committees includes medical, radiation, and surgical oncologists, statisticians, data managers, psycho-oncologists, nurses and others. Modality Committees, including Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Psycho-Oncology, Surgery, Pathology, Radiation Oncology, Transplantation, Oncology Nursing, and Data Management serve as the sites for planning and implementing new approaches for these disciplines and most committees feed these concepts to the Disease Committees to be incorporated in the final design of protocols. In addition, the Group supports active investigation of tumor biology, epidemiology, pharmacology, and cancer control science through protocols developed and implemented via the Correlative Science Committee, the Epidemiology Working Committee, the Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Committee and the Cancer Control Science Committee. The Group has developed specific protocols that address the common cancers of minorities and women and has promoted activities that encourage the participation of women and minorities in its clinical trials. Through appointments to key positions in the Group and with the support of the Minority Initiative Program funding, the CALGB has made significant progress in its minority and women program during the last funding period.
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