Cleveland Clinic selected to participate in National MDS Clinical Research Consortium

Public release date: 7-Jun-2012
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Contact: Joe Milicia
milicij2@ccf.org
216-312-0591
Cleveland Clinic

Thursday, June 7, 2012, Cleveland: Taussig Cancer Institute at Cleveland Clinic will participate in an unprecedented, six-institution consortium designed to conduct clinical trials and research to improve outcomes for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Known as the MDS Clinical Research Consortium, the five-year, $16 million initiative is sponsored by the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation and supported by the Edward P. Evans Foundation.

This is the first privately funded MDS research consortium in the U.S. Mikkael Sekeres, M.D., M.S., Director of Taussig Cancer Institute's Leukemia Program, will co-chair the Consortium with Guillermo Garcia-Manero, M.D. of MD Anderson Cancer Center. The Consortium will fill a major gap in MDS-related clinical research by providing a new "critical mass" of dedicated institutions to support the evaluation of promising new therapies, epidemiological studies, and translational studies leading to new treatments and classifications for these diseases. It will also sponsor a yearly, dedicated MDS fellowship slot at each institution.

Centralized clinical operations (data collection and management, biostatistics, clinical trial accrual and supervision of research protocols) will be housed at Taussig Cancer Institute. The Consortium will be administered by the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation.

"This Consortium is the first clinical research network created to support the infrastructure that makes MDS clinical research happen by enabling the collaboration of the leading MDS centers is the U.S.," said Dr. Sekeres.

The other five participating institutions include Dana Farber Cancer Institute; MD Anderson Cancer Center; H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute; Weill Medical College of Cornell University; and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.

"One of the greatest challenges in research of rare diseases like MDS is having enough patients to conduct meaningful clinical trials. No single center can do it alone. This uniquely collaborative effort overcomes that barrier," said John Huber, Executive Director of the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation. "To have these six leading MDS research centers working together in this way is unprecedented."

Programs selected as part of the Consortium are based at U.S. academic medical centers that serve a high volume of MDS patients; that maintain a current and historical patient data base; and that have a current and retrospective MDS patient cohort of sufficient size to have a very significant track record of participation in MDS-related clinical trials.

MDS is a cancer of hematopoietic bone marrow stem cells akin to leukemia that inhibits the body's ability to produce healthy blood cells. It principally affects adults over the age of 60 years, and can be treated with chemotherapy, growth factor, or immuonomodulatory therapies. At present, the only cure is a bone marrow transplant.

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For more information about Taussig Cancer Institute, visit http://my.clevelandclinic.org/cancer/default.aspx. For more information on the Aplastic Anemia & MDS Foundation, visit http://www.aamds.org/.

About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. It was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S.News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. About 2,800 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 11,000 nurses represent 120 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic Health System includes a main campus near downtown Cleveland, eight community hospitals and 16 Family Health Centers in Northeast Ohio, Cleveland Clinic Florida, the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Cleveland Clinic Canada, and opening in 2013, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. In 2010, there were 4 million visits throughout the Cleveland Clinic health system and 155,000 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 100 countries. Visit us at http://www.clevelandclinic.org/. Follow us at www.twitter.com/ClevelandClinic.

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Public release date: 7-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Joe Milicia
milicij2@ccf.org
216-312-0591
Cleveland Clinic

Thursday, June 7, 2012, Cleveland: Taussig Cancer Institute at Cleveland Clinic will participate in an unprecedented, six-institution consortium designed to conduct clinical trials and research to improve outcomes for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Known as the MDS Clinical Research Consortium, the five-year, $16 million initiative is sponsored by the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation and supported by the Edward P. Evans Foundation.

This is the first privately funded MDS research consortium in the U.S. Mikkael Sekeres, M.D., M.S., Director of Taussig Cancer Institute's Leukemia Program, will co-chair the Consortium with Guillermo Garcia-Manero, M.D. of MD Anderson Cancer Center. The Consortium will fill a major gap in MDS-related clinical research by providing a new "critical mass" of dedicated institutions to support the evaluation of promising new therapies, epidemiological studies, and translational studies leading to new treatments and classifications for these diseases. It will also sponsor a yearly, dedicated MDS fellowship slot at each institution.

Centralized clinical operations (data collection and management, biostatistics, clinical trial accrual and supervision of research protocols) will be housed at Taussig Cancer Institute. The Consortium will be administered by the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation.

"This Consortium is the first clinical research network created to support the infrastructure that makes MDS clinical research happen by enabling the collaboration of the leading MDS centers is the U.S.," said Dr. Sekeres.

The other five participating institutions include Dana Farber Cancer Institute; MD Anderson Cancer Center; H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute; Weill Medical College of Cornell University; and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.

"One of the greatest challenges in research of rare diseases like MDS is having enough patients to conduct meaningful clinical trials. No single center can do it alone. This uniquely collaborative effort overcomes that barrier," said John Huber, Executive Director of the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation. "To have these six leading MDS research centers working together in this way is unprecedented."

Programs selected as part of the Consortium are based at U.S. academic medical centers that serve a high volume of MDS patients; that maintain a current and historical patient data base; and that have a current and retrospective MDS patient cohort of sufficient size to have a very significant track record of participation in MDS-related clinical trials.

MDS is a cancer of hematopoietic bone marrow stem cells akin to leukemia that inhibits the body's ability to produce healthy blood cells. It principally affects adults over the age of 60 years, and can be treated with chemotherapy, growth factor, or immuonomodulatory therapies. At present, the only cure is a bone marrow transplant.

###

For more information about Taussig Cancer Institute, visit http://my.clevelandclinic.org/cancer/default.aspx. For more information on the Aplastic Anemia & MDS Foundation, visit http://www.aamds.org/.

About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. It was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S.News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. About 2,800 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 11,000 nurses represent 120 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic Health System includes a main campus near downtown Cleveland, eight community hospitals and 16 Family Health Centers in Northeast Ohio, Cleveland Clinic Florida, the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Cleveland Clinic Canada, and opening in 2013, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. In 2010, there were 4 million visits throughout the Cleveland Clinic health system and 155,000 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 100 countries. Visit us at http://www.clevelandclinic.org/. Follow us at www.twitter.com/ClevelandClinic.

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[ | E-mail | Share ]

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

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