Georgia Cancer Specialists (GCS) – a Top 10 private cancer practice in the U.S. – has offered novel clinical trials in Macon for more than 10 years thanks to their status as a clinical study affiliate of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center (UABCCC). This affiliation allows GCS to bring trials from the academic setting to local communities, closer to the patients.
Dr. Cheryl Jones of the GCS-Macon office is the Lead Investigator for the Macon region and has been part of several GCS-UAB trials. She says “the GCS-UAB relationship has allowed us to bring novel treatments to citizens of communities who might not otherwise have been able to participate in these trials in the university setting. Through the GCS Research Program, Central Georgia residents can have access to comparable trials as residents of Atlanta, New York, Houston, Boston, and other major cities across the country that house major academic centers.”
In 2000, GCS became the first community-based oncology practice in the United States to receive a Department of Defense Community-based Clinical Trial Network grant in partnership with UABCCC.
Dr. Mansoor Saleh, the director of clinical research at GCS and also a professor of medicine at UABCCC, oversees the GCS research program and was instrumental in establishing the GCS-UAB affiliation.
“Due to our relationship with UAB and our tremendously dedicated research team, we now enroll approximately 250 patients in clinical trials each year, and are consistently the highest-enrolling community-practice in the state for all types of trials,” he said.
Macon recently added another UABCCC relationship, as the Medical Center of Central Georgia announced a partnership with the center, adding even more trial options for Central Georgia residents. Dr. Saleh says this is a great model for other cities in the U.S. to follow.
“The focus should always be on the patients, and having another research facility available in Macon gives local patients and their families even more options to find the trial that is best for them,” he said.
Georgia Cancer Specialists is a Top 10 private cancer practice in the U.S. and a leader in advanced cancer treatment and research. The practice supports more than 200,000 patient visits each year. GCS offers community-based medical oncology and hematology services and is the first private oncology practice to also provide a full range of support services for patients in Georgia, including nutritional counseling, pain management, wellness counseling, and home health coordination. The GCS research department, whose focus is bringing targeted cancer therapy to communities, is the first in Georgia to offer Phase I clinical trials, the most novel cancer therapies available. GCS has 30 offices, 45 physicians, and more than 500 support staff members located in Metro Atlanta, North and Central Georgia, and Southwest North Carolina. Georgia Cancer Specialists can be found on the web at www.gacancer.com GCS is The Cancer Answerâ.
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