The Dayton Clinical Oncology Program (DCOP) provides access to national cooperative group clinical trials for over 1.5 million people in 11 counties in southwestern Ohio. Against this background, the DCOP has developed an eight-hospital consortium for the conduct of community based clinical trials. The eight hospital cancer registries in the consortium report over 5,000 new cancer patients per year, an increase of over 100 percent since 1980. The DCOP brings together the strength and resources of a group of multidisciplinary investigators who collaborate in the conduct of clinical trials from SWOG, NSABP, MDACC, RTOG, and the UMCCC. The investigators number 72 including 20 hematologists/oncologists, 10 radiation oncologists, 27 surgeons, and 15 colleagues in urology, pathology, gastroenterology, gynocology, and internal medicine. Over the next five years, the overall aim is to reduce cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality by accelating the transfer of newly developed cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, patient management, rehabilitation, and continuing care technology to widespread community application. By careful design, the program will focus 50 percent of its resources on cancer control and prevention research. These complemantary objectives of both treatment and cancer prevention/control are a ready match for the patient population and fit within DCOP interest and capabilities. The immediate goals of the DCOP are to continue the strong accrual rate to treatment trials; to duplicate that effort in cancer prevention/control trials; to facilitate wider community participation, including minority groups and underserved populations; to use public education as a tool for increased awareness that will lead to increased participation; to use professional education symposia as a tool for technology transfer; to cultivate contacts with primary care physicians and other specialists who may contribute to cancer prevention/control initiatives. The DCOP will earn over 1400 credits by the year 2004. In summary, the DCOP track record demonstrates the ability to manage complex clinical research and cancer prevention/control activities while producing the highest quality data. The DCOP has the resources and well trained and experienced personnel to support both cancer treatment and prevention/control trials. The DCOP management, staffing pattern, protocol management procedures, patient/participant management approaches, data quality control mechanisims, IRB structure, and strong consortium support are in place and functioning to support current and future therapeutic and cancer prevention/control activities.
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