American Society Clinical Oncology Award

The American Society Clinical Oncology presented its 2010 Clinical Trials Participation Awards (CTPAs) to 10 community oncology practices for their commitment to improving the care of patients with cancer through increased participation in clinical trials. Southeastern Medical Oncology Center, with offices in Goldsboro, Clinton, Wilson, Rocky Mt and Kenansville (coming soon) was one of the practices to be honored with this award. The awards were presented during their annual conference on June 6, 2010. ASCO is the nation’s premier organization for clinical oncology with attendance hovering around 30,000 at their annual meetings.

The CTPAs are designed to recognize and promote high-quality clinical research sites with the intent to increase the awareness of and participation in clinical trials among physicians. The awards are presented to community-based practices participating in clinical trials, which are vital to ensuring continued advancement of cancer therapies.

“Clinical research activities in the community continue to be critical to the successful completion of trials and the advancing of the continuum of cancer care,” said Robin Zon, MD, FACP, Chair of the CTPA Review and Selection Subcommittee. “The Clinical Trial Participation Awards recognize sites that have proven dedication and commitment of resources while achieving high standards of performance in their clinical trial program,” she added.

“As physicians our number one goal is to provide our patients with the best possible care available. In 2009 18% of our patients participated in the national clinical trials process which represents the cutting edge therapy in cancer care” said Dr. Atkins. “On behalf of the physicians and staff of Southeastern Medical Oncology Center, we are honored and humbled to be chosen as recipients of this award.”

Of the 1.3 million people who will be diagnosed with cancer this year, only 3-5% will participate in cancer clinical trials. In 2009, Southeastern Medical Oncology Center enrolled 135 patients (or 18% of their new cancer patients) into clinical trials giving them the opportunity to receive state of the art cancer treatments. Over 55% of all of their new cancer patients were initially screened for a clinical trial to arrive at an accrual rate of 18%. Southeastern Medical Oncology Center currently has 136 clinical trials that are ongoing in various types of cancer including breast, lung, colon, pancreas, prostate, bladder, kidney and leukemias.

“ASCO is pleased to honor the Southeastern Medical Oncology Center for working to give their patients a range of treatment options and for contributing to the progress that has been made against cancer” said Martin J. Murphy, Jr., PhD, MED, Sc, chair of the ASCO cancer foundation board of directors. Clinical trials are research studies designed to evaluate whether new treatment or procedures are better than current standard of care, thanks in large part to the knowledge gained through clinical trials. Today 2/3 of cancer patients will survive at least 5 years after diagnosis compared to only half that number in the 1970’s and half of all cancer patients today will be cured of their cancer. This year’s award winners were selected based on many factors, including patients accrual to clinical trials. Special consideration was given to practices that increased clinical trials participation under representative populations as well as practices that use innovative techniques to work on barriers to the enrollment of cancer patients into clinical trials. In addition to being a national leader in providing patients access to clinical trials, Southeastern Medical Oncology Center also offers patients cancer care treatments from a compassionate skilled and dedicated professional staff. Southeastern Medical Oncology Center also provides patients and their family’s access to a wide range of psychosocial support and patient advocacy services.

The clinical trials participation award program is supported by a grant from the Coalition of Cancer Cooperatives groups which enables ASCO to provide aware recipients with travel grant to attend this year’s ASCO’s annual meeting. For more information on participation in clinical trials at the Southeastern Medical Oncology Center, contact the data management center at 919-580-0000 or visit us on the web at www.cancersmoc.com.

Southeastern Medical Oncology Center is accepting and serving new patients daily:
James N Atkins M.D.
Keith A Lerro, M.D.
I-Wen Chang, M.D.
Samer S. Kasbari, M.D.
J. Scott Smith, M.D.