The West Clinic Awarded Grant to Participate in National Cancer Clinical Trials Pilot Breakthrough Collaborative Sponsored by National Cancer Institute: Integrating Cancer Treatment Clinical Trials into Community Cancer Care
Deborah D. Coble
Director, Corporate Communications
901-683-0055 ext. 1312
dcoble@westclinic.com
September 6, 2011 Memphis, TN- – The West Clinic, a world-class center of excellence in medical oncology, hematology, radiology and other advanced medical care, announced today that it is one of only six community-based cancer organizations awarded a grant from the Education Network to Advance Cancer Clinical Trials (ENACCT) to participate in the National Cancer Clinical Trials Pilot Breakthrough Collaborative. The six organizations were selected from a nationwide pool of applicants seeking to improve patient participation in cancer clinical trials, especially those from ethnic and racial minority groups and those 65 years and older. Each organization has formed an Improvement Team that will drive the organization’s efforts.
The six selected organizations are The West Clinic, Memphis, TN; Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center, Sioux Falls, ID; Bayhealth Medical Center, Dover, DE; Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta, GA; Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Albany, GA; and Queens Medical Center, Honolulu, HI.
According to Lee S. Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, Medical Director for The West Clinic and President/Chief Medical Officer of the Accelerated Community Oncology Research Network (ACORN),
| “The West Clinic has been involved in cancer research for over 30 years, and we are always looking for more comprehensive ways to offer our clinical trials to our patients and community. This innovative grant opportunity will allow us to enhance our procedures for screening and enrolling patients to our studies. With over 30 novel agents in our clinical trials available at The West Clinic, it is critically important to increase enrollment to trials designed to help us advance drug development and ultimately patient outcome.” |
Reflecting on the significance of this Collaborative for the six organizations and their patients, ENACCT Executive Director Margo Michaels commented,
| “We know that cancer clinical trial participation in the U.S. remains under 3%, with even lower participation rates among ethnic and racial minority groups and those over 65. This Collaborative is the first ever to be implemented around cancer clinical trials and has generated enthusiasm and excitement from industry, clinical trial experts, practicing oncologists, and patient advocates. The improvement strategies tested and implemented by these organizations will be shared nationwide, and will benefit community oncology practices throughout the country.” |
About ENACCT
ENACCT is the only national organization solely devoted to evidence-based, community-centered approaches to cancer clinical trial education. A non-profit organization, its mission is to improve access to cancer clinical trials through education and collaboration with communities, health care providers, and research staff. We seek to increase cancer clinical trial participation and access to quality care for all cancer patients — especially those from underserved communities. ENACCT uses an evidence-based approach to ultimately increase cancer clinical trial accrual rates. Our work seeks to:
- Enhance the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors of both community health care providers and clinical trial investigators to improve patient access to cancer clinical trials.
- Change local organizational practices, relationships, and/or policies to help more prospective patients, particularly the underserved, to be offered and have positive experiences with cancer clinical trials as a part of quality cancer care.
- Enhance community literacy about medical research to help change knowledge and attitudes of cancer patients and the public at large.
About The West Clinic
The West Clinic is the Mid-South’s premier provider of multidisciplinary cancer care with 28 specialty providers in medical oncology, hematology, gynecologic oncology, diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, endocrinology, pain & palliative care, and psychology. West Clinic currently has six clinics in Memphis, West Tennessee, and North Mississippi. As a nationally-recognized leader in cancer research, West Clinic has consistently been one of the first centers nationally to gain experience with most of the major advances in adult cancer. For a list of available clinical trials at The West Clinic visit www.westclinic.com.
For additional information please email research@westclinic.com.