We in the cooperative group system get so hung up on patient accrual. I must have used that word, “accrual,” 500 times in our recent National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) Operations Center grant application. Of course, that is because patients power our research trials. That’s why it is important to recognize hospitals, cancer centers, and other clinical sites for their patient enrollment efforts – one of the major goals of the National Cancer Institute’s High Performing Site Initiative (HPSI).

Founded after the NCTN was formed in 2013, the HPSI recognizes sites that enroll very large numbers of patients onto NCTN trials while maintaining excellent trial data quality. Each year, these high performers get a special payment from NCI. This program is a critical way to recognize and reward the places that support our trials – but don’t have the infrastructure support available through other dedicated NCI grants.

These rostered members are so important to our work. Last year, sites that will get HPSI funds enrolled 554 patients to SWOG trials. Under the HPSI program, they’ll get $1,850 for every patient accrued – for a total of $1.02 million in additional support to SWOG members.

Huge thanks to the NCI for supporting our members in this way. And huge thanks to our high performers. Here are the institutions who will earn HPSI awards based on their NCTN enrollments between March 2016 and February 2017:

  • University of Rochester
  • City of Hope
  • University of Kansas Cancer Center
  • Moffitt Cancer Center
  • Oregon Health & Science University
  • UT Health San Antonio
  • Henry Ford Hospital
  • Ben Taub General Hospital
  • University of Arizona Cancer Center-North Campus
  • Cedars-Sinai
  • Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health
  • Lahey Hospital & Medical Center
  • Northwestern University
  • Loma Linda University Medical Center
  • Markey Cancer Center/University of Kentucky
  • Sutter General Hospital
  • Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center/Baylor College of Medicine
  • UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • Providence Cancer Institute Southfield Campus
  • Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center
  • UC Irvine Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • Orlando Health UF Health Cancer Center
  • University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  • UC Health Barrett Cancer Center
  • California Pacific Medical Center: Pacific Campus
  • University of Kansas Cancer Center-Overland Park
  • Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center
  • UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion
  • Loyola University Medical Center

Of course we thank all the sites who enroll members onto NCTN research trials. We can’t run our studies without our patients, and we couldn’t do so without those who help the patients find and join trials.

Abstracts for ASCO 2018 are due soon. The ASCO deadline for submission is Feb. 13 at 11:59 pm EST. Please submit your SWOG abstracts for processing and approvals to pubs@swog.org by Jan. 30.

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