Cancer Trials Support Unit

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The Cancer Trials Support Unit(CTSU) is a service of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the United States.

Contents

The CTSU facilitates access to NCI-funded clinical trials for qualified clinical sites and supports the management and conduct of those clinical trials.

History

The NCI launched the CTSU in 1999 to streamline and harmonize support services for Phase III Cooperative Group cancer clinical trials funded by the NCI.

CTSU now supports multiple NCI-funded networks and clinical trials of all phases and types. These include cancer treatment, prevention and control, advanced imaging and correlative science studies. The CTSU collaborates with the NCI and its funded organizations to develop and support operational processes and informatics solutions leading to cost-effective solutions that reduce administrative burden on clinical sites. [1] [2]

NCI research networks

The CTSU supports the following NCI cancer research networks: [3] [4]

Additional NCI and NIH services that work in conjunction with the CTSU include:

Related Research Articles

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI conducts and supports research, training, health information dissemination, and other activities related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer; the supportive care of cancer patients and their families; and cancer survivorship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medical research</span> Wide array of research

Medical research, also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of health.

The Children's Oncology Group (COG), a clinical trials group supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is the world's largest organization devoted exclusively to pediatric cancer research. The COG conducts a spectrum of clinical research and translational research trials for infants, children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SWOG</span>

SWOG is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) supported organization that conducts clinical trials in adult cancers.

The cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG) was a US government program to develop an open-source, open access information network called caGrid for secure data exchange on cancer research. The initiative was developed by the National Cancer Institute and was maintained by the Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology (CBIIT) and program managed by Booz Allen Hamilton. In 2011 a report on caBIG raised significant questions about effectiveness and oversight, and its budget and scope were significantly trimmed. In May 2012, the National Cancer Informatics Program (NCIP) was created as caBIG's successor program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer</span> International nonprofit organization

The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) is a unique pan-European non-profit clinical cancer research organisation established in 1962 operating as an international association under Belgium law. It develops, conducts, coordinates and stimulates high-quality translational and clinical trial research to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients. This is achieved through the development of new drugs and other innovative approaches, and the testing of more effective therapeutic strategies, using currently approved drugs, surgery and/or radiotherapy in clinical trials conducted under the auspices of a vast network of clinical cancer researchers supported by 220 staff members based in Brussels. The EORTC has the expertise to conduct large and complex trials especially specific populations such as the older patient and rare tumours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cancer and Leukemia Group B</span> U.S. research cooperative group

Cancer and Leukemia Group B is a cancer research cooperative group in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIV Vaccine Trials Network</span>

The HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) is a non-profit organization which connects physicians and scientists with activists and community educators for the purpose of conducting clinical trials seeking a safe and effective HIV vaccine. Collaboratively, researchers and laypeople review potential vaccines for safety, immune response, and efficacy. The HVTN is a network for testing vaccines, and while its members may also work in vaccine development for other entities, the mission of the HVTN does not include vaccine design.

The "war on cancer" is the effort to find a cure for cancer by increased research to improve the understanding of cancer biology and the development of more effective cancer treatments, such as targeted drug therapies. The aim of such efforts is to eradicate cancer as a major cause of death. The signing of the National Cancer Act of 1971 by United States president Richard Nixon is generally viewed as the beginning of this effort, though it was not described as a "war" in the legislation itself.

The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center located in Baltimore, Maryland.

A glossary of terms used in clinical research.

The Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM) is an office of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis. OCCAM was founded in 1998 and is responsible for NCI's research agenda in pseudoscientific complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), as it relates to cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and symptom management. The OCCAM differs from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health in that it is exclusively focused on cancer, while the NCCIH funds a much broader program of NIH research into CAM for all diseases and disorders. It last produced an annual report in 2011 and spent $105 million on CAM research in 2011.

The University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center (UWCCC) is a comprehensive cancer center in Wisconsin, as designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the lead federal agency for cancer research. It is an integral part of both the University of Wisconsin (UW) and the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. It is located in Madison, Wisconsin.

Robert E. Wittes was Physician-in-Chief of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, from 2002 until December 31, 2012. Prior to his appointment at MSKCC, he was Deputy Director for Extramural Sciences and Director of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis at the National Cancer Institute, where he oversaw NCI's extramural clinical and basic research programs, including the evaluation of new therapeutics, diagnostics, and translational research. Wittes is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the American Federation for Medical Research. In addition to his institutional affiliations, Dr. Wittes has served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and Oncology. He has served on the editorial boards of Clinical Cancer Research, Current Opinion in Oncology, The American Journal of Clinical Oncology; Cancer Investigation, and The International Journal of Radiation Oncology-Biology & Physics, among others.

The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology is a national clinical trials network sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that consists of about 10,000 cancer specialists at hospitals, medical centers, and community clinics across the United States and Canada. The Alliance develops and conducts clinical trials with promising new cancer therapies, and utilizes scientific research to develop treatment and prevention strategies for cancer, as well as researching methods to alleviate side effects of cancer and cancer treatments.

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) charity that funds research, provides patient/caregiver support, conducts community outreach and advocates for increased federal research funding for those affected by pancreatic cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Z. Pavletic</span>

Steven Z. Pavletic is a Croatian-American physician and researcher in hematology and oncology known for his role in developing consensus guidelines for clinical trials in chronic Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

Deborah Watkins Bruner is an American researcher, clinical trialist, and academic. She is the senior vice president for research at Emory University. Her research focus is on patient reported outcomes, symptom management across cancer sites, sexuality after cancer treatment, and effectiveness of radiotherapy modalities. Bruner's research has been continually funding since 1998, with total funding of her research exceeding $180 million. She is ranked among the top five percent of all National Institutes of Health-funded investigators worldwide since 2012, according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worta McCaskill-Stevens</span> American physician-scientist (1949–2023)

Worta J. McCaskill-Stevens was an American physician-scientist and medical oncologist specialized in cancer disparities research, management of comorbidities within clinical trials, and molecular research for cancer prevention interventions. She was chief of the community oncology and prevention trials research group at the National Cancer Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brigitte C. Widemann</span> German-American pediatric oncologist

Brigitte C. Widemann is German-American pediatric oncologist. She is chief of the pediatric oncology branch and clinical deputy director of the center for cancer research at the National Cancer Institute. She is also the special advisor to the NCI director for childhood cancer.

References

  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2022-06-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Riordan, S. E.; Hering, M. F.; Hopkins, J. R.; Lambersky, R.; Marinucci, D. M.; Martier, K. E.; Mooney, M. M.; Nelson, A.; Rajaram, R.; Abrams, J. S. (May 10, 2010). "NCI Cancer Trials Support Unit at year 10". Journal of Clinical Oncology. 28 (15s): 6077. doi:10.1200/jco.2010.28.15_suppl.6077.
  3. "CTEP".
  4. "NCI's Cancer Trials Support Unit (CTSU) | Westat".