NETWORK STRIVES FOR STATEWIDE CANCER TREATMENT by Dennis Quick, Senior Staff Writer for
the Charleston Regional Business Journal
Charleston, SC (April 16, 2007) - Last year, the American Cancer Society estimated there were 22,530 new cancer cases in South Carolina, while statistics from the National Cancer Institute point out that between 1999 and 2003, South Carolina averaged 8,291 cancer deaths annually.
Cancer is the state’s second-leading cause of death and annually costs South Carolina an estimated $2.6 billion, according to the South Carolina Cancer Alliance, a nonprofit, 800-member organization devoted to decreasing cancer’s impact on the Palmetto State. The Medical University of South Carolina’s Hollings Cancer Center is fighting the disease through its clinical trials network, involving medical facilities throughout the state. The network’s members share research and resources that help start or strengthen their clinical trials programs or enable members to participate in trials conducted at the Hollings Cancer Center. The aim is to increase South Carolinians’ access to cancer treatment. Advancements in cancer treatments are made through clinical trials, in which cancer-fighting drugs are systematically tested on patients, said Dr. Carolyn Reed, clinical director of the Hollings Cancer Center’s outreach program. The network helps member facilities get more pharmaceuticals for clinical trials, which helps more South Carolinians participate in clinical trials, Reed added. In March, Florence-based McLeod Health became the network’s eighth member. “As part of the network with the Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC, we will be able to provide our patients with participation in the local, university-based trials that MUSC conducts,” said Dr. Rajesh Bajaj, director of McLeod’s cancer center, which has about 200 patients participating in cancer research. Other network members include Lexington Medical Center, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Palmetto Health in Columbia, Columbia-based South Carolina Oncology Associates, Carolina Regional Cancer Center in Myrtle Beach, Georgetown Hospital System and the Orangeburg-based Regional Medical Center of Orangeburg and Calhoun Counties. The Hilton Head Regional Medical Center will become a member upon the approval of its membership contract. Medical facilities begin the process of joining the network by sending representatives to the Hollings Cancer Center and discussing with Hollings officials the needs and aims of their facilities and the mutual benefits to both parties. An affiliation agreement is then signed. Network member facilities provide convenient cancer treatment for patients, Reed said. “If you get sick, you want care near your home. You don’t want to travel,” she said.
Such patient-care convenience spurred The Regional Medical Center of Orangeburg and Calhoun Counties to join the network a year ago. People in the Orangeburg-Calhoun area are interested in participating in clinical trials but lack the means to travel to the Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston. Now that The Regional Medical Center is part of the network, patients can participate in clinical trials closer to home, in Orangeburg, said Dr. Chris Brunson of the medical center’s H. Filmore Mabry Center for Cancer Care. Since its inception in 2003, the Hollings Cancer Center’s clinical trial network has received $12 million in funding from the National Cancer Institute and conducted more than 500 clinical trials, Reed said. It is through clinical trials that innovative medical treatments are discovered. These treatments have increased the life expectancy of people suffering from diseases like leukemia and Hodgkin’s disease, Reed said. However, clinical trials are traditionally conducted at academic medical centers, not at community medical facilities where 80% of cancer victims are treated, Reed said. The Hollings Cancer Center’s clinical trials network extends clinical trials to non-academic medical facilities. Doctors in the network have access to seminars, conferences and Internet-based education programs at the Hollings Cancer Center. Their medical facilities receive from the Hollings center guidance and support for the clinical trials programs. The amount of government funding clinical trials receive depends on the number of patients participating, Reed explained. “When we seek support for conducting clinical trials, we need to show we have sufficient numbers of participants. Our network of partners will greatly expand our potential participant base and enhance South Carolina’s ability to attract additional resources and opportunities to promote cancer research,” Reed said. Dennis Quick is senior staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dquick@charlestonbusiness.com. © 2006 Copyright Setcom Media, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
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