Benefits for patients participating in the radiation therapy trials include increased access to new investigational therapies, the state of the art in standard care, and close monitoring by physicians and other clinicians during the trial.

US Oncology has developed a robust medical oncology research program over the past 12 years. Affiliated radiation oncologists expressed the desire to increase the breadth of the research network and provide patients with access to radiation therapy combined modality studies to offer an integrated care environment for patients.


"We are excited about the relationship between Radiation Therapy Oncology Group and US Oncology," said Vivek Kavadi, MD, medical director of radiation research for US Oncology. "You have one of the nation's foremost cancer treatment and research networks working with the premier organization for radiation trials to provide a clinical offering beneficial to patients and both organizations."

The collaboration provides RTOG access to US Oncology's significant patient population, making radiation therapy trials more accessible to cancer patients in the community setting nationwide. US Oncology's strong presence in certain parts of the country helps RTOG expand clinical trial participation into areas where it has few or no enrolling members, giving patients access to trials previously unavailable to them.

"We at Radiation Therapy Oncology Group are always interested in opportunities to expand our portfolio of trials to the greatest number of patients and we are excited that US Oncology's investigators will help us in that mission," said Dr. Curran.

US Oncology affiliated practices participating in the RTOG trials program have increased access to new investigational radiation therapy treatments, and the ability to work with other oncologists and leading researchers to advance the quality of care for cancer patients.

"We're on a substantially strong growth track with the RTOG trials," said Dr. Kavadi. "We hope to have 30 affiliated practices participating by next year, and to become a full RTOG member by early 2010. We're delighted this relationship is going to be a central part of the overall growth for the US Oncology Research network."

About The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group

The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) is a clinical research enterprise of the American College of Radiology (ACR), located in the ACR Philadelphia, PA office. RTOG is a multi-institutional international clinical cooperative group funded primarily by National Cancer Institute grants CA21661, CA32115 and CA37422. RTOG has 40 years of experience in conducting clinical trials and is comprised of over 300 major research institutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The group currently is currently accruing to 40 studies that involve radiation therapy alone or in conjunction with surgery and/or chemotherapeutic drugs or which investigate quality of life issues and their effects on the cancer patient. Visit the group's Web site, www.rtog.org.

More Industry Headlines