“The West Clinic has the best physicians and staff…and with that comes the best quality of patient care.”

Bryan Glover, Radiology Technologist

The West Clinic is at the center of changing the paradigm for oncology research. From our inception, Dr. Bill West had a vision that the clinic be a leader in the development of new medications and methodologies for treatment. Today, The West Clinic has over three dozen active clinical trials. In addition, the clinic is about to commence ten new trials. It also is completing the last phase of reporting on nearly two dozen more. Thus, The West Clinic is engaged in research on 70 clinical trials – making the clinic a “World Class Center of Excellence in Cancer and other Advanced Medical Research.”

The objective of these trials is to accelerate the best new drugs to market so that patients all over the United States have the best therapies available.

In an effort to fuel this effort the West Clinic has helped start two companies – ACORN and SOS.

ACORN stands for Accelerated Community Oncology Research Network. SOS stands for Supportive Oncology Services. The purpose of these two companies is to improve cancer research (and other research) in the community setting throughout the United States. Currently, 20 other cancer centers in the United States are using the model developed by ACORN and SOS.

ACORN provides access and expertise in helping community cancer centers engage in research. SOS provides new technologies and the accompanying expertise to implement research.

The key aspect of ACORN is the word, “Accelerated.” In cancer care, there is a vital need to “Accelerate” new drugs and new drug therapies to market. These drugs cannot be available until they have passed rigorous research on multiple patients at multiple sites. The ACORN network has developed new methodologies for accruing patients onto studies at a faster rate than ever before. The result is quicker analysis, outcomes, and availability.

Of course the goal is better survival, longer survival, and improved quality of life.

The key aspect of SOS is the word “Supportive.” Using quality of life indicators that have been verified through statistical research, SOS is pioneering the quality of life emphasis in cancer care. SOS has developed the Patient Care Monitor (PCM) & Cancer Care Monitor (CCM) – a cutting edge technology that provides the most comprehensive patient assessment available in cancer care. This device has been featured at national conferences including the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Mayo Clinic. The PCM/CCM is able to provide an enormous amount of data that assists in research. It is also able to increase the efficacy of accruing patients to the best research protocols – the most critical need for accelerating the best drug therapies to market.