A Team Science Leadership Team

In our first Front Line post as SWOG’s group chairs, we want to open by recognizing that we inherit an amazing foundation for success architected by SWOG’s past leaders. 

Dr. Charles Blanke and the leadership team he assembled have built SWOG into a cooperative group that’s a clear leader in precision oncology, rare cancers, international collaboration, translational medicine, and so much more (join us at the spring meeting plenary to hear plenty more about these accomplishments and these leaders). 

We are honored to take the helm of this research organization, and we’re humbled by the responsibility that comes with that role – responsibility both to patients and to SWOG’s members who contribute tirelessly to the group’s work. 

One of the distinct benefits we feel we have to offer in leading SWOG is that we are group chairs plural – two of us operating coequally. 

SWOG is all about interdisciplinary collaboration, and it epitomizes team science. We think a leadership approach with dual principal investigators who bring complementary skillsets and expertise to the role is a great fit for such an organization. We’ll work hard to prove it.

One week into the new NCTN grant cycle (and our tenure), we can report that the move of SWOG’s Network Operations Center grant from Oregon Health and Science University to its new home at University of California–Davis is going remarkably smoothly. Thank you to all those at SWOG, Hope, and these two universities whose intensive efforts are making this transition look effortless.

Our NCORP Research Base grant remains at OHSU, and we expect the NCI will issue its request for applications for the next cycle of NCORP awards sometime this spring. As you’ve probably heard mentioned before, SWOG is well prepared for that RFA – when it’s finally issued, we’ll be all over it.  

In next week’s Front Line post, we’ll have more to say about our goals and our vision for SWOG, but we want to hear what you have to say as well. As a SWOG member, what are your experiences and challenges? What are your ideas for making your group even more effective?

Our spring meeting plenary session will be a great opportunity to have your say, but if you don’t want to wait, you can contact us both at GroupChairs@swog.org.

We’re incredibly excited about SWOG’s future, and we hope you are as well. We look forward to a productive conversation about where the coming years should take us! 
 

S1602 Bladder Cancer Trial Reports Out at ASCO GU
At the just completed 2026 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, Dr. Robert Svatek presented initial primary results from the SWOG S1602 trial he has led in patients with BCG-naïve non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. 

Among other findings, he reported that, when used as intravesical therapy for these patients, an alternate strain (Tokyo-172) of bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) was non-inferior to the only FDA-approved strain (TICE).

This is exciting news because an alternate BCG strain that can be used without sacrificing efficacy might help reduce the treatment disruptions caused by repeated shortages of the BCG TICE strain. Read the S1602 abstract (LBA629).