Clinical Trials Beginning At Morrison Cancer Center
The Morrison Cancer Center (MCC) is now offering clinical trials, giving its patients a foot in the door to new treatments and potentially lifesaving procedures.
Clinical trials are research studies involving medically screened participants to learn more about how people respond to new medications and other treatments. They provide patients with the opportunity to test the most recent and potentially lifesaving medical advancements.
“Anytime a patient enrolls in a clinical trial, it shows our faith in the possibility of human beings curing cancer one day,” said Dr. M. Sitki Copur, MCC Medical Director.
In order to begin clinical trials, MCC partnered academically with the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center (FPBCC). MCC joined the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology nd Western Copernicus Group (WCG) was chosen as the Institutional Review Board.
MCC Clinical Trials Coordinator Joan Meese and MCC Director David Jones have attended several virtual meetings for training and completing pivotal steps toward the program.
The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, a National Cancer Institute-funded cancer cooperative group formed in 2011, conducts clinical trials to validate new strategies for preventing and treating a broad range of cancers. The Alliance provides a scientific and operational infrastructure for innovative clinical and translational research in academic and community settings.
“This is a turning point in our clinical trials enterprise,” Dr. Copur said of the Alliance membership. “MCC is now able to take part in NCI-designated clinical trials.”
MCC is set to start Alliance and industry-sponsored in the next month.