The Queen's Medical Center is Chosen by ENACCT to Boost Clinical Trials

The Queen's Medical Center is one of six community-based cancer organizations selected for the first-ever nationwide collaborative to increase participation in cancer clinical trials.

"An option for treatment is clinical trials," says Karen Ng, RN, OCN, organization team coordinator. "The hope is to have a good amount of clinical trials available to cancer patients so they have the option of staying in Hawaii." Clinical trials can focus on new treatments, symptom management, quality-of-life, and improved diagnostics, all of which benefit patient care.

Queen's is one of six organizations nationwide to be awarded a grant from The Education Network to Advance Cancer Clinical Trials (ENACCT) and participate in the National Cancer Clinical Trials Pilot Breakthrough Collaborative. The six organizations were selected from a nationwide pool of applicants. The other five organizations are Avera McKennan Hospital and University Health Center, Sioux Falls, Indiana; Bayhealth Medical Center, Dover, Delaware; Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta, Georgia; Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Albany, Georgia; and The West Clinic, Memphis, Tennessee.

ENACCT is the only national organization solely devoted to evidence-based, community-centered approaches to cancer clinical trial education. A nonprofit organization, its mission is to improve access to cancer clinical trials through education and collaboration with communities, health care providers, and research staff. ENACCT seeks to increase cancer clinical trial participation and access to quality care for all cancer patients, especially those from underserved communities.

"ENACCT's evidence-based, community-centered approach to improving access to clinical trials, particularly for minorities, is in direct alignment with the work that our QMC Oncology Research Program is doing for Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and Pacific Islander populations in Hawaii," says Debbie Ishihara-Wong, RN, Director of the Queen's Cancer Center and Oncology Services. "This collaboration is significant," explains Ishihara-Wong, "because less than 3% of Asians and Pacific Islanders are currently enrolled in clinical trials nationwide. These populations have the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates."

Darlena Chadwick, RN, QMC vice president of Patient Care, added, "We are pleased to be on this ground-breaking path with ENACCT. As the largest provider of cancer care in Hawaii, QMC services approximately 40% of all cancer patients in the state. QMC is improving cancer care not only in our state, but throughout the country."

In addition to its selection for ENACCT, Queen's is one of 30 sites in the nation selected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to participate in the NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP). A key component of the NCCCP is its Disparities Core, which focuses on improving health care and increasing access to clinical trials for disparate and minority communities. Earlier this year, Queen's partnered with the Imi Hale Native Hawaiian Cancer Network (an NCI-Community Network Program Center) and subcontracted with ENACCT to conduct a clinical trials workshop for primary care physicians and clinical staff.