E-Newsletter - May 2024
Spotlight on Alliance Institutions

INFLUENCING NEW STANDARDS OF CANCER CARE:
VCU MASSEY CANCER CENTER MINORITY UNDERSERVED NCORP

VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center is working toward a future without cancer – one discovery, one successful therapy and one life saved at a time. Recognized as an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Massey is among the top four percent of cancer centers in the country influencing a new standard of care through research, education and community engagement. Introducing a new generation of community-centered cancer centers, Massey is leading the nation in establishing a 21st-century model of equity for cancer research and care. Community informs and partners with Massey on its research to best address the cancer burden and disparities of those the cancer center serves, with a local focus and a global impact. 

“Increasing the enrollment of minorities and underserved patients in clinical trials is an important mission of the NCI to diversify trial participants and address disparities in cancer,” said Asit Paul, MD, PhD, who was awarded a ‘Gold Certificate of Excellence’ by the NCI in 2022 as a recognition of his contribution in patient enrollment in Minority Underserved NCORP (MU-NCORP) trials. “This is a reflection of Massey’s strong and continued commitment to this mission.” Dr. Paul is a hematologist-oncologist, Chair of the Data and Safety Monitoring Committee and Co-Leader of the Urologic Oncology Disease Working Group at Massey, and serves as the Site Principal Investigator for the MU-NCORP Alliance Trials.

Massey conducts cancer research spanning basic, translational, clinical and population sciences; offers state-of-the-art cancer therapies and clinical trials, including a network that brings trials to communities statewide; provides oncology education, teaching and training; and promotes cancer prevention. At Massey, oncology experts collaborate in multidisciplinary teams to provide award-winning, comprehensive cancer care at multiple sites throughout Virginia.

As an awardee of a MU-NCORP (formerly referred to as Minority Community Clinical Oncology Program) for more than 30 years, Massey plays a significant role in facilitating the development of community-based oncology clinical trial partnerships. Massey’s MU-NCORP team provides ongoing training and education to investigators and staff at nine component sites and supports their participation in NCTN and MU-NCORP trials. 

What’s more, VCU Massey Cancer Center has earned a spot as a top accruer in the Alliance and was selected to design the meeting book cover for the 2024 Alliance Spring Hybrid Group Meeting. Massey has been a top 40 accruing Alliance Main member since 2015. As a MU-NCORP, Massey’s site reflects a patient population comprised of at least 30 percent racial or ethnic minorities or rural residents, allowing patients, particularly minority and underserved individuals, to access prevention, early detection, and treatment clinical trials as well as cancer care delivery research closer to home.

 

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