National Cancer Institute Organizations Ranks Graham Cancer Center as Leader in Patient Participation in Clinical Research Trials

For its outstanding patient participation rate in cancer clinical trials, ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute has earned top-tier ranking for 2022 from organizations of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

ChristianaCare’s patient participation rate into all types of cancer clinical trials is nearly 30% – more than seven times the national average of 4%. The latest top rankings are from the National Cancer Institute’s NRG Oncology Research Group.

NRG Oncology ranked the Graham Cancer Center no. 5 among 46 National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) sites. The ranking is for clinical trials under the NCI’s Division of Cancer Prevention Program. NRG Oncology also ranked the Graham Cancer Center among the top under a different organization, NCI’s Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program.

NRG Oncology is one of five U.S. research groups participating in NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network and leads clinical trials at NCORP sites. NCI’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Cancer Therapy Evaluation programs sponsor different kinds of cancer clinical trials at NCORP sites.

“Congratulations to our physicians and the entire research team for our exceptionally high patient participation rate in clinical trials that we have maintained for many years, even during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Nicholas Petrelli, M.D., Bank of America endowed medical director of the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute.

“Their dedication and commitment to research broadens opportunities for our patients to participate safely in the latest and most promising cancer treatments without leaving Delaware.”

In 2021, the Graham Cancer Center diagnosed nearly 3,400 new cases of cancer. At the same time, more than 800 patients were enrolled in clinical trials for cancer prevention, treatment and cancer control.

“Thanks to our physicians and patients, our program truly goes above and well beyond the national standard,” said Gregory Masters, M.D., the NCORP principal investigator at ChristianaCare.

“We offer our patients the opportunity to find the most effective treatments and breakthrough treatment options, which allows them to be part of the overall advancement of cancer care.”

According to the NCI, cancer clinical trials are the key to making progress against cancer. Here’s how:

• People are living longer due to successful cancer treatments that are the result of past clinical trials.
• Through clinical trials, physicians determine whether new treatments are safe and effective and work better than current treatments.
• Clinical trials help find new ways to prevent and detect cancer and help manage cancer related symptoms and improve the quality of life for people during and after treatment.
• Clinical trials also focus on studying the best ways to make these advances available to everyone in our community, and provide underserved populations a chance to participate in breakthrough clinical research.

ChristianaCare’s Cancer Research Program began in 1987 and has grown over the years to include at any one time about 120 clinical trials available to a growing number of eligible patients.