Research Links
Thhe Cancer Centers Program provides support to research-oriented institutions, including those that have been designated as NCI Comprehensive or Clinical Cancer Centers for their scientific excellence. More information is available in the NCI fact sheet The National Cancer Institute Cancer Centers Program, which is available at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/NCI/cancer-centers
The Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs) bring together scientists and researchers to design and implement research programs that can improve prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of specific types of cancer. More information about SPOREs is available at http://spores.nci.nih.gov/index.html on the Internet.
The Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program brings researchers, cancer centers, and doctors together into cooperative groups. These groups work with the NCI to identify important questions in cancer research, and design and conduct multisite clinical trials to answer these questions. Cooperative groups are located throughout the United States and in Canada and Europe. For more information, refer to the fact sheet NCI’s Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/NCI/clinical-trials-cooperative-group on the Internet.
The Cancer Trials Support Unit (CTSU) makes NCI-sponsored phase III treatment trials available to doctors and patients in the United States and Canada . Doctors who are not affiliated with an NCI-sponsored Clinical Trials Cooperative Group (see above) must complete an application process, which includes credential verification and site preparedness assessment, to become members of the CTSU’s National Network of Investigators. CTSU members can enroll patients in clinical trials through the program’s Web site, which is located at http://www.ctsu.org on the Internet. General information about the CTSU is also available on the program’s Web site, or by calling 1–888–823–5923.
The Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) makes clinical trials available in a large number of communities across the United States. Local hospitals throughout the country affiliate with a cancer center or a cooperative group. This affiliation allows doctors to offer people participation in clinical trials more easily, so they do not have to travel long distances or leave their usual caregivers. The Minority-Based Community Clinical Oncology Program focuses on encouraging minority populations to participate in clinical trials. More information about the CCOP can be found in the NCI fact sheet Community Clinical Oncology Program: Questions and Answers, which is available at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/NCI/CCOP on the Internet.
The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, a research hospital located in Bethesda, Maryland, is part of the NIH. Trials at the Clinical Center are conducted by the components of the NIH, including the NCI. The NCI fact sheet Cancer Clinical Trials at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center: Questions and Answers has more information about the Clinical Center.
This fact sheet is available at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/NCI/clinical-center on the Internet.