The Southeast Cancer Control Consortium, Inc., (SCCC) is a consortium of 15 communities in a five state area with 16 component sites. They are located in an area including eastern Tennessee, 2 border cities of southern Virginia, throughout North and South Carolina, and one location in Georgia. The catchment of these referral communities is estimated at 7.7 million. Demography of the area reflects a low population density,limited socioeconomic and educational development, and a black to white population of approximately twice the national average. The consortium has 125 participating physicians (oncologists, surgeons, and radiation therapists), with one physician designated as the "Community Leader" to be responsible for locally coordinating participation in clinical trials and cancer control programs. There are trained support personnel in each community and data management is performed and monitored by competent, trained oncology nurses/clinical research associates. Each of he communities have completed the prescribed assurances for OPRR (office for Protection from Research Risks). NCI approved cancer prevention and clinical trials are open for accrual via our three research bases: Cancer and Leukemia Group B, National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project and the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University. The SCCC Operations Office coordinates the consortium's activities by providing a telephone information service line, monitoring IRB approvals, coordinating protocol participation via monthly (and interim) mailings, conducting on-site visits, providing data management training and continuing education programs, preparing grant reports and coordinating audits by our research bases. The SCCC has been very successful, accruing 3,344 registrations in years 01-08, ranking number one in NSABP CCOP accruals and alternately ranks first or second in CALGB's CCOP accruals. Our cancer prevention participation has been exceptional, with 321 BCPT randomizations and 418 PCPT randomizations at the end of year 08. Our cancer control/prevention goals include escalation of a community based program utilizing volunteers ("Community Advocates") to effect a broad population impact. This unique program is devised to encourage lifestyle modifications and focus on early detection, especially in high-risk populations, as a method to reduce the morbidity and mortality of cancer across ethnic, minority, and socioeconomic groups. By expanding our recruitment to both clinical trials and prevention studies, as well as focusing on early detection and public education, we are confident that our program will significantly impact, in a positive fashion, the quality and quantity of state of the art cancer care and prevention in the community setting.
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