Lakeland Joins Cancer Research Consortium of West Michigan
Aug 29, 2014
(ST. JOSEPH) – Cancer patients throughout West Michigan — including those served by Lakeland Health — will now have greater access to new and unique clinical trials.
Eleven hospitals and healthcare systems have formed a consortium — the Cancer Research Consortium of West Michigan (CRCWM) — to bring the highest level of clinical trials from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to the men, women, and children in their communities.
The consortium received notice on August 1 that it was designated by the NCI as a National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP). This designation provides $1.9 million in grant money annually for CRCWM over the next five years to provide new cutting-edge clinical cancer trials to our community and to complete existing clinical trials on which over 1,800 West Michigan patients are currently enrolled. CRCWM is one of only 46 community sites selected from applicants across the country.
“This is great news! The NCORP designation will allow our West Michigan hospital members to recruit physician investigators to participate in National Cancer Institute clinical trials, such as those they trained under at national cancer centers,” said Gilbert D. A. Padula, MD, Principal Investigator, Cancer Research Consortium of West Michigan.
Cancer Research Consortium of West Michigan members include:
• Bronson Battle Creek
• Lakeland Health
• Mercy Health Mercy Campus
• Mercy Health Saint Mary’s
• Munson Medical Center
• Spectrum Health
• Spectrum Health Reed City Hospital
• West Michigan Cancer Center
• Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
• Van Andel Research Institute (continued)
“Joining the Cancer Research Consortium of West Michigan doubles the number of clinical trials we are able to offer to our community members,” said Edmund Paloyan, MD, Medical Director, Oncology Services, Lakeland Health. “This means that patients can stay close to home and participate in clinical trials that they may not have access to otherwise.”
The NCORP opportunity was established after the National Cancer Institute made the decision to end funding as of July 31, 2014, for federally funded clinical trials in the community setting through Community Clinical Oncology Programs (CCOP). CCOPs existed in more than 60 communities throughout the United States, including Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. Without the new NCI research grant funding as an NCORP, it would be very difficult for communities to access these trials.
“We are enthusiastic about the opportunities that the program’s academic/community partnership offers for incorporating new technologies into clinical studies to improve cancer care for individuals at risk of cancer and with a diagnosis of cancer,” said Worta McCaskill-Stevens, MD, MS, Chief, Community Oncology and Prevention Trials Research Group, National Institute of Health, National Cancer Institute. “Another exciting area is the new focus on Cancer Care Delivery Research. These studies will evaluate the multiple factors that influence the dynamic healthcare environment in which cancer care is provided and also have great potential for improving cancer outcomes and reducing disparities in care.”
“We are very pleased to receive the NCORP designation because it offers hope and possibilities to the more than 9,000 men, women, and children in West Michigan who will face a new cancer diagnosis each year,” said Connie Szczepanek, RN, BSN, Director, Cancer Research Consortium of West Michigan. “The importance of these trials to our patients and their families and friends is immeasurable now and in the future.”
More information about the Cancer Research Consortium of West Michigan can be found at
www.crcwm.org. Research conducted through the CRCWM NCORP grant is supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UG1CA189860.