The National Cancer Institute selects UChicago Medicine as a lead site for clinical trials

The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC) will remain one of the nation's leading sites for cancer clinical research, thanks to a new, six-year, $5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

The funding, which comes from the NCI's UG1 National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) grant program, supports UCCCC's continued participation as a Lead Academic Participating Site (LAPS) within the NCTN, a collection of organizations and clinicians that coordinates and supports cancer clinical trials at more than 2,200 sites across the United States, Canada and internationally. NCTN clinical trials help to establish new standards of care, set the stage for approval of new therapies by the Food and Drug Administration, test new treatment approaches and validate new biomarkers.

The NCI typically issues the UG1 LAPS grant as a “limited competition,” meaning that only elite academic institutions with a proven track record of enrolling hundreds of patients annually into NCI trials are eligible to apply. The funding is vital for establishing the sophisticated infrastructure required to host, design, and enroll patients in large-scale, national cancer clinical trials.

“This renewal reflects the extraordinary dedication of our physicians, scientists, research staff and patients who make practice-changing clinical research possible,” said Hedy Lee Kindler, MD, Professor of Medicine, Director of the Multidisciplinary Mesothelioma Program at UChicago Medicine and principal investigator for the UCCCC site. “This grant will enable us to provide outstanding multidisciplinary scientific and administrative leadership in the design and implementation of innovative and potentially life-saving clinical trials within the NCTN.”

Kindler also serves as the Associate Dean of Clinical Science Research, Human Subjects in the University of Chicago’s Biological Sciences Division.

One of the largest cancer clinical trial programs in the U.S.

Clinical trials remain central to the UCCCC's mission. The center has one of the largest cancer clinical trials programs in the country, with nearly 350 adult and pediatric therapeutic trials actively recruiting patients and approximately 850 participants enrolled in therapeutic trials annually. Many of these studies are investigator-initiated, including Phase 1 or 1/2 trials, demonstrating the UCCCC’s commitment to translating basic research findings to the clinic through proof-of-principle and early-phase studies.

The LAPS designation from the NCI indicates scientific leadership in the development and conduct of clinical research. To receive these awards, sites must demonstrate their ability to develop innovative clinical trials and enroll high numbers of patients onto NCTN trials. LAPS manage the type of robust data collection, rapid study activation and patient auditing required for complex trials.

As one of 32 LAPS in the U.S., the UCCCC contributes to the NCTN's goals by providing the scientific leadership to develop trials that have a significant impact on treatment and the infrastructure to effectively recruit participants to clinical trials.

The UCCCC has played a leadership role in the NCTN since the network’s inception in 2014. It collaborates with national research groups, including Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology and NRG Oncology, to accelerate the development of new cancer therapies and improve outcomes for patients across the country.

The UG1 grant renewal builds on the UCCCC’s longstanding history of excellence in cancer research and clinical investigation. Founded in 1973, the UCCCC is one of only two NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in Illinois and remains nationally recognized for its integrated programs in laboratory science, translational research, clinical trials, cancer prevention and community engagement.

Because the UCCCC has the infrastructure for the initiation and conduct of a wide spectrum of clinical trials, it will provide a mechanism for robust accrual to trials across the NCTN, with participation across all tumor types, including trials for rare cancers, and in a diverse patient population. Enrollment will take place at the UCCCC main campus in Hyde Park and at five network sites, bringing early-stage and cutting-edge cancer trials closer to home for Chicago and Northwest Indiana residents.

“A distinguishing strength of our center is our deliberate investment in our network site infrastructure, ensuring that every location is equipped with the staffing, facilities and technology required to conduct clinical trials safely, efficiently, and at the highest standard of quality,” said Lauren Wall, Senior Director of the UCCCC Clinical Trials Support Office.

In addition, the grant supports the UCCCC’s unique ability to enroll historically underserved, racially diverse urban populations into federal clinical trials, helping to eliminate national health disparities.

“By closely aligning our clinical trials infrastructure with robust community outreach and engagement programs, we have expanded access to research participation and achieved meaningful diversity in enrollment, with underrepresented minorities comprising 35% of our trial participants,” Wall said.

The renewed funding will continue to support scientific leadership, clinical trial development, patient enrollment infrastructure and collaborative research efforts that improve access to innovative therapies for patients in Chicago and beyond.

“The National Clinical Trials Network creates opportunities for patients to participate in transformative research close to home,” said Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, Director of the UCCCC, the AbbVie Foundation Distinguished Service Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Dean for Oncology in the Biological Sciences Division. “Renewal of this grant ensures that our patients and communities remain connected to the latest advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.”

For more information about UCCCC's cancer research and clinical trials, visit UChicago Medicine Cancer Research & Clinical Trials.