for cancer professionals

NCORP is NCI's national network of private and public cancer care investigators, providers, academia, and other organizations that conduct multi-site cancer clinical trials and cancer care delivery research studies in diverse populations across the U.S. In Georgia, it consists of a statewide partnership, named "Georgia NCORP," made up of Atlanta's Northside Hospital Cancer Institute, Savannah's St. Joseph's/Candler's Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer and Research Pavilion, and the Georgia Center for Oncology, Research and Education (CORE).

Georgia CORE's affiliates in this endeavor are the Harbin Clinic in Rome, John B. Amos Cancer Center in Columbus, Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon and Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. The Georgia NCORP award alone is $5.85 million over five years, providing Georgians with over 100 oncology clinical providers in 41 different locations throughout the state.

Three aims will guide the development, implementation, and evaluation of three primary research programs of the Community Site: Clinical, biospecimen, and cancer care delivery. In general, the aims will: 1) Establish and test an intervention model to increase the percentage of patients who have access to and enroll in cancer research in their own communities; 2) Increase the number of biospecimens that are collected and used for cancer research; and 3) Overcome barriers to genetic risk screening, counseling and testing for high-risk women with a familial history of breast or ovarian cancer. The Community site aim achievement will improve the quality of care in Georgia through increased cancer research in local communities, identification of best practices for research accruals, and increased capacity and expertise for cancer research statewide.

While the award will bring valuable resources to those organizations, the funding and recognition are a big win for the state as a whole.  According to NCI, the five-year grants go to institutions and organizations that will ensure the latest scientific discoveries are translated into the most effective strategies to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.  "This national award is a result of the state's remarkable progress in bringing the highest quality of cancer care and clinical trials to patients in their own communities," said Georgia CORE President and CEO Nancy M. Paris. "In fact, the number of trials available in Georgia has doubled in just the last five years, thanks to the extraordinary level of collaboration among community oncologists committed to a unified, comprehensive approach to meeting the highest international standards of care and research."