Newswise — The Cancer Institute of New Jersey Highlights Clinical Trial Program and Importance of Patients Being Able to Access Study Information through One-Stop-Shopping Website
New Brunswick, N.J., March 27, 2009 " During this National Cancer Control Awareness Month, The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) is highlighting its clinical trial program and the importance of patients having access to quality information about these cancer studies right at their fingertips. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMNDJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
As New Jersey's only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, CINJ currently enrolls more than 1,000 patients in prevention, treatment and supportive care trials, including approximately 15 percent of all new adult cancer patients and approximately 70 percent of all pediatric cancer patients. Enrollment in clinical trials nationwide is fewer than five percent of all adult cancer patients.
Among the exciting trials at CINJ is an effort to see whether combining the FDA-approved drugs Celebrex® and Lipitor®, used respectively for arthritis pain and lowering cholesterol, might slow or stop the growth of prostate cancer. Information on this trial and many others being offered at CINJ, can be found at the New Jersey Cancer Trial Connect (NJCTC) website.
NJCTC is a web-based, comprehensive resource in English and Spanish that allows patients to cross-reference tumor sites, targeted drugs and other information, then matches them with cancer clinical trials available throughout New Jersey. The site (www.njctc.org) -- which is operated by CINJ with assistance from the state -- was launched in 2003 and has received more than seven-million hits since.
CINJ Expert Available for Interview: Susan Goodin, PharmD, FCCP, BCOP, is the associate director of clinical trials and therapeutics at CINJ and professor of medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. As the driving force behind the creation of New Jersey Cancer Trial Connect, she can discuss how the need for such a resource tool was identified, and what impact the website has had on patients. Dr. Goodin can also provide an overview of CINJ's clinical trial program as well as discuss aspects of supportive care, clinical pharmacology and drug interactions. She is also the lead investigator on the aforementioned Celebrex®/Lipitor® trial.
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