Wichita was one of the 17 Community Hospital Oncology Programs (CHOPs) funded for implementation and which successfully mobilized community resources towards improving the care of the cancer patient. Initiated in 1983, the Wichita CCOP continues as an established successful program. It is a city-wide consortium of three major community hospitals with a total of 2,246 beds. The principal investigator, participating physicians administrative director, nurse data managers, and clerical personnel have been in place since program initiation, thereby offering the experience and expertise for continued successful program implementation. We have successfully entered over 100 patients each year on Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) protocols and averaged 20 patients per year on Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) protocols. The Wichita CCOP plans to accrue 150.7 credits (142 patients) on therapeutic protocols and 79 credits (177 patients) on cancer control protocols using three research bases: Southwest Oncology Group; M.D. Anderson Hospital; and Pediatric Oncology Group.
The specific aims of the Wichita CCOP are: 1) to bring the benefits in medical care that result from participation in clinical trials to patients in Wichita and its surrounding catchment area of southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma - a patient population which would otherwise be unserved because its geographic location is remote from comprehensive cancer centers; 2) to provide continuing education to Wichita oncologists and others caring for cancer patients; 3) to increase accrual of patients on treatment protocols and thus reduce the time necessary to answer critical questions; 4) to provide an operational base for the extension of cancer control efforts in early detection, prevention screening, pretreatment evaluation, treatment, continuing care, and rehabilitation. With over 2,000 new cancer patients each year and our experience as a CHOP and CCOP, we have the necessary number of patients, expertise, and commitment to continue our successful therapeutic research effort and to expand into cancer control research.
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