SWOG is a clinical research cooperative group that designs and conducts large-scale trials of new cancer treatments and prevention regimens.
SWOG is one of the largest of the National Cancer Institute-supported clinical trial cooperative groups.
SWOG has more than 4,000 affiliated physician researchers participating at more than 500 institutions, most in the US, but a number in Canada, Sweden and Saudi Arabia as well.
Among SWOG's institutions are 22 National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers.
Though SWOG originated in the southwestern U.S., it has long since become a national -- even international -- organization. Its core bases of operation are spread across the country:
the Group Chair's Office in Ann Arbor, Michigan
the Deputy Chair's Office in Rochester, New York
the Associate Group Chair's Office in Orange, California
the Operations Office in San Antonio, Texas
the Statistical Center in Seattle, Washington
SWOG conducts many large trials such as the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT), a prostate cancer prevention study in which more than 35,000 men enrolled. But the group also conducts groundbreaking phase I and phase II studies to test new targeted therapies, and tissue studies make use of the latest discoveries in cancer genetics.
In 2010 SWOG enrolled almost 5,000 patients to its clinical trials. The group's budget for 2010 exceeded $41 million.
