Brown University Oncology Group (BrUOG)
Clinical trials are available for a broad range of disorders in hematology/oncology and these include treatment for cancers of the breast, lung, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and prostate as well as trials in leukemia and lymphoma. Many of these trials utilize novel therapeutic agents or new combinations of treatments in an effort to improve treatment.
The Brown University Oncology Group (BrUOG) is the principal mechanism for oncology clinical trials at the Alpert Medical School. This regional consortium of Brown-affiliated hospitals allows hematologists, oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, pathologists, and others to develop investigator-initiated clinical trials. These studies are conceived and designed by faculty at member institutions. They provide cutting-edge applications of chemotherapeutic agents, biologic agents, and other treatment modalities. Such innovative studies lay the groundwork for larger nationwide studies under the auspices of cooperative clinical trials groups.
In addition to protocols coordinated by BrUOG, patients at our hospitals also have access to a large variety of other clinical trials through national cooperative groups such as Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB), the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) and the Radiation Treatment Oncology Group (RTOG). Only through the resources of such large organizations can such randomized trials of cancer therapy take place. Pharmaceutical industry-sponsored trials of novel agents are also available. Sponsorship for clinical trials is derived from the National Cancer Institute and from numerous pharmaceutical industry sponsors.
Howard Safran, MD, is the Director of the Brown University Oncology Group. William Sikov, MD, is the principal investigator for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (formerly CALGB) trials at Rhode Island and the Miriam Hospitals.
Cancer Center at Brown University
The Cancer Center at Brown University is building world-class cancer research programs that bring basic science discoveries about cancer, interdisciplinary clinical, translational, and population research to innovative therapeutic, disease intervention and cancer prevention clinical trials to patients in the State of Rhode Island. The Cancer Center is an outgrowth of the Joint Program in Cancer Biology at Brown and Lifespan. For more information please visit https://www.brown.edu/academics/biomed/cancer_biology/cancer-center-brown-university.