August 27, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, AL – The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology has been selected for membership in the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Phase I Consortium. This consortium is made up of an elite group of hospitals and academic centers working to advance cancer treatment for children.

As part of the 21-member institution consortium, UAB will serve as the only Alabama hospital, and one of only two participating institutions in the Southeast.

“The most significant advantage to being a part of the Phase I Consortium is being able to offer the sickest childhood cancer patients more cutting-edge experimental drugs and therapies,” said Todd Cooper, D.O., the UAB principal investigator for the Phase I Consortium project.

The new drugs and therapies will be administered under the strictest medical and safety regulations designed by Children’s Oncology Group and clinical trial managers at UAB. Patients will be seen at The Children’s Hospital of Alabama and UAB.

“Historically, new anti-oncologic agents have been tested and approved in adults long before they are made available to children,” said Cooper, an assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology. “This Consortium is focused on bringing these new agents to our younger patients sooner.”

The overall cure rate for childhood cancer is about 80 percent. However, for children who do not respond to existing therapy there are few options. Enrollment in the COG Phase 1 Consortium is specifically designed for patients who’ve failed other known cancer therapies, Cooper said.

Cancer clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps called “phases,” with each phase designed to answer certain research questions. This process is essential in bringing cutting-edge treatments to children safely and efficiently.

Phase I studies are performed to find the highest dose of a new treatment that can be given safely without serious side effects. The benefit to patients of enrollment in a Phase I study is the potential of having their cancer improve or remain stable, and also of helping to advance the scientific understanding of experimental anti-cancer agents for future childhood cancer patients.

So far a dozen new studies have opened up at UAB and Children’s Hospital through the Phase 1 project. Cooper and his colleagues have played an active role in the COG program to date, becoming one of the top enrolling institutions.

The Children’s Oncology Group is a coalition of more than 250 hospitals worldwide who participate and develop clinical trials that drive treatment decisions aimed at improving cure rates. Member doctors, nurses and researchers offer diagnosis, state-of-the-art treatment and support to 90% of children with cancer in North America.