June 25: Kaptur Announces Major Federal Award To Support Toledo-Area Cancer Research

“TCOP is a valuable partner in the National Cancer Institute’s strategicplan, which holds the promise of unprecedented progress in the fight against cancer, which places almost unbearable burdens on millions of American families every year. The NCI plan also makes clear that cancerresearch is an economic force as well, bringing and sustaining quality jobs in communities such as Toledo in the search for a higher quality oflife,” Kaptur said.

Congresswoman Kaptur said programs such as TCOP were founded on the belief that advances in cancer care result directly from participation in clinical trials and that the involvement of community physicians and their staffs would provide the necessary volume of patients to provide answers to clinical research questions.

TCOP provides a regional Institutional Review Board to review and monitor cancer research protocols at participating hospitals and clinics. Approximately 50 participating physicians from medical and radiation oncology, general surgery, pathology, thoracic surgery and urology play an active role, along with 90 allied health professionals, such as oncology nurses and clinical research assistants. This team has been regularly accruing more than 100 patients annually on treatment related to research trials.

In 1989, TCOP became a primary member of the North Central Cancer Treatment Group with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project, Radiation Therapy Oncology Group and Southwest Oncology Group as secondary research bases. Many TCHOP physicians have chaired protocols and have served as chairs of the NCCTG Surgery Committee, RTOG Economic Impact Committee and ECOG Quality of Life Committee.

For more information about clinical trials: https://www.cancer.gov/features/clinicaltrials2010.