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Options in Medical Oncology
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Highlights
Options in Medical Oncology
The Head and Neck Cancers Program encompasses a team of highly skilled physicians and specialists who focus on treating these complicated cancers. Our medical oncology options are extensive, and our well-coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to care means better outcomes for patients. Because head, neck and skull base cancers are our specialty, our standard of care is higher than what other facilities can offer. Our patients continue to receive excellent follow-up care, long after their treatment has ended.
Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin are members of several research consortiums, with unparalleled access to clinical trials, especially when it comes to head, neck and skull base cancers. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has created several small consortiums across the country to help get new drugs and treatments developed and tested more quickly. Promising new drugs go though Phase I trials, the earliest form of clinical trials. In the Phase II network, they’re tested specifically for activity in specific cancers.
The clinical trials and protocols that are open at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin change often, and patients can learn more about which trials are currently active by visiting our clinical trials pages, contacting us or visiting the Web sites of the organizations below. We are member of the following groups:
- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group — funded primarily by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), this group conducts clinical trials related to many different kinds of cancers, including head, neck and skull base cancers. It is among the country’s largest clinical cancer research organizations.
- Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) — RTOG is also primarily funded by NCI and conducts research around the country on various cancers. One of its primary areas of research is head and neck cancer. RTOG includes both clinical and laboratory investigators from more than 260 institutions in the United States and Canada. Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin have a strong affiliation with RTOG. In addition to enrolling patients in its clinical trials, several Medical College of Wisconsin faculty have led trials and served in leadership positions for RTOG.
- University of Chicago Phase II Consortium — this NCI-funded consortium focuses on developing new experimental drugs. Our membership in this group offers the opportunity for patients who have failed other treatments to be eligible for new drugs.
- Northwestern University Phase I/Phase II ChemoPrevention Consortium — funded by NCI, this group researches how cancers might be prevented. Chemoprevention refers to the use of drugs, vitamins, or other agents to try to reduce the risk of cancer, or delay its development or recurrence. The consortium looks at new drugs that are thought to be promising in preventing cancer development or cancer progression early on. Membership in this group gives Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin the opportunity to offer new therapies for patients with pre-malignant conditions.
Author: Joan Cotter Pike Date: Nov. 15, 2007 | Medical Reviewer: | Stuart Wong, MD |
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