Launching the ‘Considering Clinical Trials’ blog to share information about cancer treatment options

In the August 2019 issue of the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group's member newsletter, we highlighted the work of our Cancer Research Advocates Committee, a group vital to our organization. We noted the critical role this committee plays in advancing ECOG-ACRIN’s mission to achieve research advances in all aspects of cancer care. The committee was formed to help bridge the gap between researchers and patients; to ensure the patient voice is represented at every stage of ECOG-ACRIN clinical trial design and implementation. As mentioned in that article (available here), its efforts to date have been fruitful, in some cases leading to changes in therapy approaches.

To complement and expand the work of the Cancer Research Advocates Committee, we are launching this Considering Clinical Trials blog to connect with the broader advocacy community, and encourage interaction, feedback, and dialogue. In each issue, we plan to feature one recently activated trial, one ongoing trial, and one trial that has published results. Occasionally, we will also include polls or design questions to help inform upcoming projects. We look forward to engaging with you on these topics, and applying what we learn to our research efforts.

The three trials in this issue span different cancer types and research disciplines. Our recently launched trial, EAZ171, aims to address an important survivorship issue, neuropathy, in African American women diagnosed with breast cancer. Our ongoing trial, EA1151/TMIST, is a breast cancer screening study that will lead to personalized screening for women. Finally, the results of leukemia trial E1912 were recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and established a new standard of care for the initial treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We hope you enjoy learning about these studies, and urge you share this blog with others.