Background and History
The Upstate Carolina Community Clinical Oncology Program (UC-CCOP) has achieved a national reputation for excellence in community cancer care through its 22-year participation in NCI programs. In 2003, UC-CCOP was highlighted by NCI as one of 27 CCOPs continuously funded since 1983. Dr. James D. Bearden, III, has acted as principal investigator since its inception.

UC-CCOP has eight research base affiliations, along with the NCI Cancer Trials Support Unit. AnMed Health in Anderson, S.C., as well as the Rutherford Cancer Resource Center in North Carolina are among the UC-CCOP affiliates.

Community Characteristics
UC-CCOP is housed in the Gibbs Regional Cancer Center on the campus of Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System (SRHS), one of South Carolina's largest community-based health care providers. Offering the latest in cancer, heart, women's, and orthopedic care, SRHS is also home to South Carolina's only accredited stroke and chest pain centers. SRHS has been named a "Top 100" hospital for computer technology and has received awards for patient satisfaction and nursing care. In 2005, Gibbs Regional Cancer Center at SRHS became one of only seven cancer centers worldwide to form an alliance with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Outreach Activities
UC-CCOP has employed a variety of techniques to enroll patients in studies. Physician education and outreach is a primary focus. Community outreach and education on a grassroots level has been extremely successful, with UC-CCOP nurses and other staff reaching out through educational events and community groups. Consumer advertising has also been used for large trials.

Awards and Other Notable Aspects of the Program
In June 2004, UC-CCOP was honored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for its commitment to cancer research. The Clinical Trials Participation Award recipients were selected by each of the NCI Cooperative Groups and the ASCO Clinical Practice Committee. Awards went to those entities that enrolled the highest number of patients to phase III trials over a 3-year period.

Accrual of minority patients to studies has been an important focus of UC-CCOP. It has averaged 20 to 25 percent accrual in treatment trials and 15 to 20 percent minority recruitment to cancer control trials.

Total accrual to the SELECT trial was 1,338 men, the second highest total in the nation, including 197 African American men (15 percent), which placed UC-CCOP fourth nationally in minority accrual. UC-CCOP has 1,286 men in follow-up for the SELECT trial. Total accrual to the PREADVISE study (adjunct to SELECT, looking at Alzheimer's disease) is 402 men, ranking UC-CCOP second nationally.

Additionally, UC-CCOP earned a first-place national ranking by enrolling a total of 39 African American women to the STAR Trial.

Between June 1, 2001 and May 31, 2006, a total of 7,840 patients were accrued to and/or followed on NCI protocols. UC-CCOP has more than 2,300 clinical trial participants in active follow-up.