UCSF Announces Expanded BreastCancerTrials.org Website The Nation's Only Exclusive Breast Cancer Clinical Trial Matching Service Adds New "Trial Alert" and "SecureCONNECT" Web 2.0 Components San Francisco, Calif. (Vocus) October 1, 2009 The nation's only clinical trial matching service dedicated exclusively to breast cancer--BreastCancerTrials.org--is now upgraded with new features, greatly expanding access and ensuring privacy for all who want the latest information about research studies and how to enroll. Cancer patients, survivors and those who are at risk now have a free, easy-to-use resource that custom matches them to clinical trials specifically targeted to their personal health profiles. BreastCancerTrials.org empowers patients with knowledge, opens the door to hope and paves the way for future cures. BreastCancerTrials.org provides patient-friendly descriptions and information for over 160 trials now underway at more than 1,500 medical facilities across the country. Visitors can either browse the service on a one-time basis, or save their personal health histories to the site's secure servers for continual matching with newly listed trials. The site features trials for detecting and treating breast cancer and improving quality of life; trials are sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and other government agencies, private industry and non-profit foundations. "Helping individuals evaluate clinical trials as a routine option during their care is the primary goal of BreastCancerTrials.org," said Laura Esserman, M.D., M.B.A., Director of the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center. "By raising awareness and encouraging individuals affected by breast cancer to learn more about their options for participation in clinical trials, we hope to increase the rate at which new treatments and procedures are developed and made available at all stages of disease." With the addition of the new one-of-a-kind SecureConnect feature, users have a confidential platform from which they can directly contact participating research sites and invite a coordinator to view their personal information to discuss potential eligibility for a trial. This saves time and helps determine whether or not a visit to the research site, which could be miles away, would be worthwhile or necessary. Those who register for the new Trial Alert Service receive automatic notification each time a new trial matching their profile is added to BreastCancerTrials.org. Conceived by cancer patients and members of the cancer community, the non-profit website service is operated by QuantumLeap Healthcare Collaborative with on-going research and development by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Center of Excellence for Breast Cancer Care and generous funding from the Safeway Foundation. Carefully conducted clinical trials are the safest and most effective way to find new methods of preventing, diagnosing, and treating breast cancer, yet very few patients are currently aware that they are eligible for participation in research studies, making recruitment for important trials a significant challenge, according to a report in the "Journal of the American Medical Association."1 The American Cancer Society estimates that about three to five percent of adult cancer patients nationwide currently enroll in clinical trials. With this in mind, BreastCancerTrials.org is a valued resource for patients and physicians seeking to expand their knowledge of trials being conducted in a variety of settings across the country. "Most women who get a breast cancer diagnosis today will survive--and every advance has come as a result of a clinical trial," Dr. Esserman says, "Where radical mastectomies or chemotherapy were once the primary solution, many patients now have a variety of treatment options that can be personalized according to specific disease and genetic history. Our aim with BreastCancerTrials.org is to empower patients with knowledge and convenient access to the best treatment options available today, and to spur new discoveries that will inform breast cancer care of the future." BreastCancerTrials.org was conceived by two breast cancer patients, turned patient advocates, Joan Schreiner and Joanne Tyler, who knew from Joan's experience how difficult it was to find clinical trials while dealing with the day-to-day demands of metastatic illness. Their own challenges prompted them to envision an easy-to-use website that could help other patients learn more about the role clinical trials play in advancing breast cancer care, and identify trials that might be right for each individual. Physicians at UCSF's Breast Care Center embraced Joan and Joanne's idea and in partnership with the NCI, built a prototype of BreastCancerTrials.org, and subsequently proved that it would work. The Safeway Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Safeway Inc., has given the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center more than $1 million to launch the website service nationwide. With the goal of further revolutionizing breast cancer research and treatment, improving outcomes by providing patients with access to more information and options, and engaging patients more actively in their individual care, Safeway's support serves as a potential model for other institutions. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month and beyond, BreastCancerTrials.org is creating alliances with some of the world's most respected advocacy organizations dedicated to advancing breast cancer awareness including:
By associating with organizations such as these, UCSF and BreastCancerTrials.org hope to transform the way clinical trials are perceived and accelerate the pace of new discoveries and treatments that will save lives for generations to come. About BreastCancerTrials.org
About the UCSF Carol Franc Breast Care Center
About QuantumLeap Healthcare Collaborative
About the University of California, San Francisco
Contact:
Elizabeth Fernandez
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