NCORP and Pharmaceutical Clinical Trials

In 1987, ChristianaCare was awarded funding as a Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP), which provided the opportunity for physicians throughout Delaware to enroll patients in national clinical trials.

Additionally, it offered an opportunity to increase minority and underserved community clinical trial participation. Since joining CCOP, the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute has become one of the largest clinical trial programs among community-based hospitals in the country, with some 100 active clinical trials in most kinds of cancer. The Graham Cancer Center is also one of the top enrollers in cancer clinical trials.

In 2014, a number of CCOP’s merged to form NCORP, the National Cancer Institute’s Community Oncology Research Program. NCORP is a national network of investigators, cancer care providers, academic institutions, and other organizations.

NCORP continues the work of CCOP’s by offering multi-site cancer clinical trials and studies to diverse populations in community-based healthcare systems across the United States and Puerto Rico. The goal of NCORP is to bring cancer clinical trials – cancer control, prevention, screening, treatment, and imaging – as well as cancer care delivery research, to individuals in their own communities, thus generating a broadly applicable evidence base that contributes to improved patient outcomes and a reduction in cancer disparities.

The mission of the Graham Cancer Center is to reduce the incidence, morbidity and mortality of cancer in our community and to improve quality of life for those living with cancer. Participation in NCORP helps us to realize these goals.