ECOG, ACRIN Join Forces

The American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) today unveiled their clinical research alliance: ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (ECOG-ACRIN). 

“We are already actively engaged in the shared mission of reshaping the future of patient care through clinical research that leads to earlier cancer detection, more successful therapeutic intervention, greater rates of prevention, and more successful patient outcomes,” officials of the alliance said at the 2011 ACRIN Annual Meeting on Friday. They said their two respective National Cancer Institute cooperative groups have merged their oncology research activities into three core areas of emphasis:

• Early detection and diagnosis of cancer;

• Biomarker-driven Phase II and Phase III therapeutic studies for multiple cancer types and stages; and

• Genetic, molecular and imaging marker research to predict and monitor treatment response.

The organizations seek “bold integration of disciplines and technologies,” with an eye toward conducting “definitive, groundbreaking, biomarker-driven clinical research that promises to achieve patient-centered breakthroughs.”

Integration efforts are afoot and the group’s leadership is developing the business, administrative, and scientific framework for ECOG-ACRIN to sustain and streamline its combined research portfolio through public and private support, ECOG-ACRIN officials said.