- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group
"The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) was established in
1955 as one of the first cooperative groups launched to perform multi-centercancer clinical trials . A cooperative group is a large network of researchers, physicians, and health care professionals at public and private institutions across the country who are members of the group. Funded primarily by theNational Cancer Institute (NCI), ECOG has evolved from a five member consortium of institutions on the East Coast to one of the largest clinical cancer research organizations in the U.S. with almost 6,000 physicians, nurses, pharmacists, statisticians, and clinical research associates (CRAs) from the U.S., Canada, and South Africa. Institutional members include universities, medical centers, Community Clinical Oncology Programs (CCOPs), and Cooperative Group Outreach Programs (CGOPs). These institutions work toward the common goal of controlling, effectively treating, and ultimately curing cancer. Research results are provided to the world-wide medical community through scientific publications and professional meetings." [ [http://ecog.dfci.harvard.edu/general/intro.html Introduction to ECOG ] ]"Currently, ECOG has more than 90 active clinical trials in all types of adult malignancies. Annual accrual is 6,000 patients, with more than 20,000 patients in follow-up." [ [http://ecog.dfci.harvard.edu/general/intro.html Introduction to ECOG ] ]
ECOG's coordinating center is based in
Boston, Massachusetts while its Group Chair's office is located inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania .Examples of ECOG clinical trials
* 1. "A study that establishes an effective
chemotherapy regimen in acute promyelocyticleukemia ." [ [http://ecog.dfci.harvard.edu/general/intro.html Introduction to ECOG ] ]* 2. "A study that demonstrated that a less-toxic regimen had similar results to the standard treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer." [ [http://ecog.dfci.harvard.edu/general/intro.html Introduction to ECOG ] ]
* 3. "A study that demonstrated that an intensive bone marrow transplant regimen for patients with metastatic breast cancer who responded to in initial standard chemotherapy did not improve time to disease progression or lifetime survival." [ [http://ecog.dfci.harvard.edu/general/intro.html Introduction to ECOG ] ]
* 4. "A study that establishes an effective treatment program involving chemotherapy and
radiation therapy for early lung cancer." [ [http://ecog.dfci.harvard.edu/general/intro.html Introduction to ECOG ] ]Quality Assurance
The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group has all of its protocol driven cases reviewed at the
Quality Assurance Review Center (QARC). As mandated by theNational Cancer Institute (NCI), everyradiotherapy department participating in an ECOG study must submit their data to QARC for review. QARC is located inProvidence, Rhode Island and reviews thousands of cases per year. The center was founded in1977 as a not-for-profit health care organization designed to provide quality assurance forCALGB studies. Radiotherapy data from around one-thousandhospitals in both theUnited States and abroad is reviewed and archived at QARC.Another center for quality assurance is the
Radiological Physics Center (RPC) inHouston, Texas . The primary responsibility of the RPC is to assure theNational Cancer Institute (NCI) and its cooperative groups like ECOG that all participating institutions are following the guidelines set-forth for the physics-related aspects of radiotherapy. Established in1968 , the RPC has consistently received funding from the NCI in order to perform the aforementioned mission.References
External links
* [http://www.ecog.org/ Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group]
* [http://www.cancer.gov/ National Cancer Institute]
* [http://www.qarc.org/ Quality Assurance Review Center]
* [http://www.rpc.mdanderson.org/ Radiological Physics Center]
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