Georgetown Physician Update

GEORGETOWN PHYSICIAN UPDATE NEWSLETTER
May/June – Volume 1, Issue 3

Unparalleled Access to Clinical Trials

MedStar Health, the not-for-profit health-care system that operates Georgetown University Hospital, has entered into a systemwide initiative for oncology research in collaboration with Georgetown University.

The centerpiece of the initiative is the creation of a single Institutional Review Board (IRB) that encompasses cancer research at all MedStar hospitals and Georgetown University. Called the MedStar Research Institute—Georgetown University Oncology IRB, the new board met for the first time in April.

"As a system, we have the largest concentration of oncology patients in the entire mid-Atlantic region, and we want to capitalize on that strength," said Kevin Cullen, MD, interim director of the Lombardi Cancer Center. MedStar's hospitals include Georgetown, Washington Hospital Center and National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, plus Franklin Square, Good Samaritan, Harbor and Union Memorial hospitals in Baltimore. Systemwide, MedStar hospitals see about 7,000 new cancer patients each year.

The unified oncology initiative gives physicians and patients at all hospitals access to a broader range of cutting-edge clinical trials. It also enhances accrual to cooperative group trials. Some 450 oncology-related studies currently are underway throughout MedStar Health.

The end result is improved patient care. "This enhances our ability to provide a uniform standard of care across the network," Dr. Cullen explained. "It also facilitates consulting among colleagues across the network, especially for unusual cases."

The new IRB meets monthly to review all applications for oncology-related research. This covers the broad spectrum of cancer research, including medical, radiation and surgical oncology clinical trials, as well as other areas of research such as tissue, genetics and psychological studies that relate to oncology.

The IRB is made up of members of various disciplines from Georgetown University and all MedStar hospitals. "We recruited oncologists from the existing Georgetown University and MedStar IRBs and then sought additional medical, pharmacology, non-scientific and community members to ensure a multidisciplinary board," said Sheila Zimmet, director of Research Assurance and Compliance at Georgetown University. 

To facilitate meetings among members from widespread locations, the IRB is using teleconferencing capabilities at Georgetown University, Washington Hospital Center and a Baltimore-based MedStar hospital. "It's very difficult to assemble all the members, so a video hookup facilitates real-time participation," Dr. Cullen noted.

Oncology studies that already are underway do not need to be resubmitted for approval by the unified IRB, Zimmet said. However, researchers will submit yearly renewal applications to the new board. The IRB will notify physicians of submission dates for research to be discussed at upcoming IRB meetings.

Other oncology initiatives include the review of National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines. The application of these guidelines across the network assures state-of-the-art care at all MedStar hospitals, Dr. Cullen said.      

-C. Avery

For more information about the MedStar Research Institute-Georgetown University Oncology IRB, call Noel Dillard, oncology IRB coordinator, at (202) 687-6553.

MedStar Research Institute-Georgetown University Oncology IRB Membership List  

1. Willard Barnes, MD, (Chair) GU gynecology oncology
2. David Perry, MD  (Vice Chair) WHC oncology
3. Michael Hawkins, MD, WHC oncology
4. Jack Hong, MD Harbor oncology
5. William McGuire, MD, Franklin Square oncology
6. Claudine Isaacs, MD, GU oncology
7. Todd Cox, MD, GU psychiatry
8. Michael Porrazzo, MD, WHC radiation oncology
9. Aruna Natarajan, MD, GU pediatrics
10. John J. Lynch, MD, WHC oncology and ethics
11. Laura Wolverton, RPh, WHC pharmacist
12. Oladapo Kolawole, RPh, GUH research pharmacist
13. Rev. Christopher Steck, GU theology
14. oshua Bowers, JD, GU community member
15. (to be named), WHC community member

 
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May/Jun 2002