Sparta Cancer Center has recently received Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s Recognition Award for Outstanding Patient Accrual in Clinical Trials. Jefferson’s Kimmel Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated center, is home to internationally renowned cancer physicians and research scientists. Sparta Cancer Center physicians collaborate with physicians at the Kimmel Cancer Center Network for clinical research through RTOG (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group).

Funded by NCI and composed of 250 major research groups such as Sparta Cancer Center, RTOG has been the leader in radiation therapy cancer research for 30 years in the United States and Canada.

Sparta Cancer Center’s Dr. Michael Gallagher and his partners have participated in RTOG research studies for over 20 years. Offering the latest technological advances in therapy translates to cancer patients and their families benefiting from the most advanced treatment and research opportunities without having to travel long distances. Cancer treatment facilities that offer such NCI-sponsored research must meet very high standards not demanded in non-participating institutions. Clinical trials are available for most types and stages of cancer. The doctors at Sparta Cancer Center determine whether patients are eligible to participate in these clinical research trials. For eligible patients, the decision to participate in a trial ultimately rests with them. Patients participate only after they have received comprehensive information about the trial and have voluntarily decided to be part of the study that is applicable to their case.

Sparta Cancer Center is a joint venture between the physicians (Sussex Radiation Oncology Associates) and Newton Memorial Hospital. The Center has been a member of the Jefferson Kimmel Cancer Center Network, Philadelphia, since 2006.

 

Pictured with the award are Tom Senker, CEO and President, Newton Memorial Hospital; Megan Frugone, RN, and Christine L. Lyasko, RN, Clinical Research Associates; and Sean O’Rourke, COO and Senior VP, Newton Memorial Hospital.

The team of physicians at Sparta Cancer Center is dedicated to providing the most advanced treatment and the highest standards of care.  One way we do this is by offering cancer patients the opportunity to participate in cancer clinical research trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).  These trials are available through our tri-state network of cancer centers, so patients do not have to travel long distances to benefit from state-of-the-science cancer therapies. Cancer clinical trials are research studies conducted with patients to evaluate new treatments.  Each study is designed to answer specific medical questions and to find new and better ways to help people with cancer.

Research trials sponsored by NCI are offered to patients only by experienced physicians in accredited facilities such as ours.  People decide to enroll in a clinical trial only after they have discussed the study thoroughly with their physician and they have made an informed decision to participate.

In most treatment studies, scientists seek to determine if new treatments are safe, effective, and superior to standard treatments.  These cancer studies look at many types of treatments, such as new drugs or vaccines, new approaches to surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy, or new combinations of these treatments.

Other studies seek to improve the quality of life for cancer patients.  Or, they may seek to find the most effective way to prevent a recurrence of cancer after treatment.

Cancer treatments currently available for patients often are the result of earlier clinical trials.  In turn, today’s standard treatments may be the basis for new clinical trials to find better ways to treat cancer.

Still other research studies, known as prevention trials, look at ways to prevent cancer.