Research:


Access to the Newest Treatment
Opportunities Close to Home

The team of physicians at Northeast Radiation Oncology Center (NROC) is dedicated to providing the most advanced treatment and the highest standards of care.  One way we do this is by offering cancer patients in Northeastern Pennsylvania the opportunity to participate in cancer clinical research trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).  These trials are available through all our NROC sites, so patients do not have to travel long distances to benefit from state-of-the-art cancer therapies.

About cancer clinical research:


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 NROC.  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.

NROC Research Accreditation:


The doctors at NROC are accredited by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to participate in cancer research trials.  This means they have access to the newest, most advanced treatment protocols available in the country for cancer treatment.

Cancer treatment facilities that offer such state-of-the-art NCI-sponsored research must meet very high standards not demanded in non-participating institutions.

Patients who wish to benefit from these cancer clinical trials may do so only in cancer centers such as NROC that are accredited by the National Cancer Institute.

 

NROC Research Experience:

NROC physicians have participated as Principal Investigators in cancer research trials in Northeastern Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years through the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), sponsored by the National Cancer Institute.  The NROC research team has been recognized nationally for the outstanding quality of its research, and hundreds of patients have participated and benefited from these research studies. 

 

Patient Research Participation at NROC:

Clinical trials are available for most types and stages of cancer.  The doctors at NROC 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.

For more information about clinical trials, click here.

Current Clinical Trials Available at NROC

NROC Research Network:

Most of the cancer trials available through NROC are offered through the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG).  NROC physicians have participated in RTOG research studies for nearly 20 years.

RTOG is a multi-institutional cooperative cancer research organization funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).  RTOG, which is composed of 250 major research groups such as NROC, has been the leader in radiation therapy cancer research for 30 years in the United States and Canada.  Click here for more information about RTOG

NROC physicians also collaborate with physicians at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Cancer Network for RTOG research.  For more information about the radiation therapy clinical trials available through the Jefferson Cancer Network, click here.