The Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program, which is sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is designed to promote and support clinical trials (research studies) of new cancer treatments, explore methods of cancer prevention and early detection, and study quality-of-life issues and rehabilitation during and after treatment. Cooperative groups include researchers, cancer centers, and community physicians throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. They work with NCI to identify important questions in cancer research and to design clinical trials to answer these questions.

The Cooperative Group Program involves more than 3,100 institutions that contribute patients to group-conducted clinical trials. More than 14,000 individual investigators are registered to participate in NCI-supported cooperative group studies. Cooperative groups place more than 25,000 new patients into cancer treatment clinical trials each year.

The groups differ in structure and research focus. Some groups, such as the Children's Oncology Group, consist of investigators that have a particular medical specialty (e.g., pediatrics); some, such as the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group, study a specific type of cancer therapy; and others, such as the Gynecologic Oncology Group, focus on a group of related cancers. The groups share a common purpose—to develop and conduct large-scale trials in multi-institutional settings.

The Cooperative Group Program was established in 1955 following congressional approval to increase support for studies of chemotherapy for cancer. Congress initially appropriated $5 million for NCI to establish the Chemotherapy National Service Center. By 1958, 17 cooperative groups were part of the Center. At that time, the main focus of the program was to test new anticancer agents from NCI's drug development program. The emphasis on chemotherapy gradually shifted to studies of combined therapy approaches in cancer treatment.

People interested in taking part in a clinical trial should talk with their doctor. Information about joining a clinical trial is available from the NCI's Cancer Information Service (CIS) at 1–800–4–CANCER (1–800–422–6237). In addition, NCI's Web site provides general information about clinical trials at http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/ on the Internet. From this page, users can search NCI's PDQ® cancer clinical trials database, which contains detailed information about specific ongoing clinical trials in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere.

Clinical Trials Cooperative Groups

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• National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet 2.11, Clinical Trials
  (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Information/clinical-trials)
• Taking Part in Cancer Treatment Research Studies (http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/Taking-Part-in-Cancer-Treatment-Research-Studies)
• Educational Materials About Clinical Trials Web Page
  (http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/learning)

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