Oncology Surgery Trials Group Relocates

The American College of Surgeons is moving its Oncology Group (ACOSOG), which oversees the largest number of clinical trials investigating surgical approaches to treating cancer, from Chicago (IL, USA) to Duke University Medical Center (Durham, NC, USA).

Supported by grants from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, ACOSOG currently oversees eight multicenter trials evaluating surgical therapies for such cancers as breast, colon, and melanoma. About 250 new patients are enrolled in these trials each month at more than 150 clinical sites across the United States. ACOSOG plans to open around 10 additional clinical trials before the end of the year. The group is headed by Dr. Samuel Wells, who will also serve as professor of surgery at Duke.

The Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) is active in organizing and operating multicenter clinical trials in cardiology, neurology, infectious diseases, and psychiatry. "In many cases, these trials give physicians and patients access to therapies that they would not otherwise get,” said Dr. Robert Califf, director of the DCRI. "So the Oncology group coming here is significant for Duke and its patients, and it gives a tremendous boost to an already excellent department of surgery.”




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