Registration is open for the Virtual Spring 2021 Group Meeting, taking place online from Wednesday, April 28 – Friday, April 30. Please register for the meeting as soon as possible, and by no later than Friday, April 23. The meeting schedule is available on the Group Meeting website (subject to change). Session agendas are not yet available, but they will be posted to the meeting app in mid-April. Watch your inbox for announcements about the app.
Don't miss this opportunity to connect with colleagues and learn the latest in basic, clinical, and translational research. Secure your spot and register for the meeting today. Questions? Email gmp@ecog-acrin.org
Please note: Virtual Spring 2021 Group Meeting sessions are open to staff from ECOG-ACRIN member institutions, ECOG-ACRIN advocates, NCI/NIH employees, and invited guests only. We are unable to accommodate attendees from non-member institutions or industry.
ECOG-ACRIN offers attendance awards to encourage underrepresented minority trainees from ECOG-ACRIN member institutions to attend the Virtual Group Meeting. Minority trainees may include students, residents, fellows, and early career investigators. Other trainees focusing on minority health or health disparities research are also welcome to apply regardless of race or ethnicity.
Applicants must submit the following to bafflick@ecog-acrin.org by Friday, April 16:
Awardees may attend any session other than those noted as ‘by invitation only.’ These sessions offer excellent professional and educational opportunities. Awardees will agree to periodic contact via email following the event. Communication may involve follow-up on their research activities, invitations to attend committee meetings, and requests for input on the benefit of conference attendance or other issues relevant to their participation in ECOG-ACRIN.
During February, the TMIST breast cancer screening trial enrolled 2,063 new participants, marking the fifth straight month of strong accrual. Total study enrollment stands at 42,700 participants at 111 sites in the US and worldwide (as of March 29). Recently, the National Cancer Institute announced it will continue to fund TMIST and work with ECOG-ACRIN leaders to modify the study in a manner that will allow for completing accrual more quickly to answer the primary study question. Meanwhile, the study remains active. Sites should continue to enroll women. New sites should continue the onboarding process. Read the ECOG-ACRIN statement on the NCI announcement.
TMIST continues to recruit new sites! If your site is interested in offering this trial to your constituents, email TMIST@acr.org to discuss the study requirements, reimbursement/payment structure, and how to start the application process.
A series of tweets shared last month by ECOG-ACRIN Myeloma Committee chair Dr. Vincent Rajkumar (Mayo Clinic) struck a chord as he recounted the story of patient advocate Mike Katz, and Mike’s role in developing clinical trial E4A03, Lenalidomide and Dexamethasone With or Without Thalidomide in Treating Patients With Multiple Myeloma. Mike was the catalyst for this trial, which ultimately established a new standard of care for patients with myeloma, sparing them from treatment with high-dose dexamethasone and improving their quality of life.
Mike Katz and Mary Lou Smith co-led ECOG-ACRIN’s Cancer Research Advocates Committee for many years, until Mike passed away in April 2015. Read the full Twitter thread for the inspiring story.
Late last year, the Royal College of Physicians of London (RCP) named Dr. Edith Mitchell (Jefferson University/Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center) a fellow of the RCP. The RCP was founded in 1518 by a Royal Charter from King Henry VIII. RCP fellows are distinguished consultants or Specialty and Associate Specialist doctors and are given the honor of using the Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of London (FRCP) post nominal. Fellowship is an accolade held by some of the most exceptional and innovative physicians in the world. It is a mark of achievement and skill as a doctor, recognizing one’s ongoing contribution to the profession, and amplifies one’s voice to shape the future of healthcare.
Dr. Mitchell currently serves as co-chair of the ECOG-ACRIN Health Equity Committee, and is also an active member of the Principal Investigator and Executive Committees.
Lung Cancer – A new publication authored by researchers in the ECOG-ACRIN Thoracic Committee provides an up‐to‐date assessment of how immunotherapy is reshaping the landscape of metastatic non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and how the impact of this therapy is rapidly moving into some patients with locally advanced NSCLC. The article also discusses the rationale for the phase III study EA5181, currently enrolling. EA5181 randomizes patients undergoing chemo/radiation for the treatment of unresectable stage 3 NSCLC to receive either concurrent immunotherapy (durvalumab) or no additional therapy (Step 1). Patients in both groups will receive durvalumab for one year following completion of Step 1. Varlotto JM. The Oncologist. February 17, 2021