About the Community Clinical Oncology Program
Facts about the CCOP Network
What is the CCOP network?
The Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) is a network for conducting cancer prevention and treatment clinical trials by community physicians. This network connects academic centers (Research Bases who design and conduct the trials) with community physicians (CCOP, MB-CCOP who accrue patients to those trials).
- A CCOP is a group of community hospitals and physicians funded by a peer-reviewed cooperative agreement to participate in NCI-sponsored cancer treatment, prevention, and control clinical trials.
- A Minority-Based-CCOP (MB-CCOP) must meet the same criteria as a CCOP and also have 40% of their new cancer patients from minority populations.
- A Research Base is an NCI-designated Cancer Center or Cooperative Group funded by a peer-reviewed cooperative agreement to design, develop, and conduct cancer prevention and control clinical trials.
Created in 1983 by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the CCOP network allows patients and physicians to participate in state-of-the-art clinical trials for cancer prevention and treatment while in their local communities. There are 50 CCOPs and 13 MB-CCOPs currently funded in 35 states across the country, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
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Who can become a "CCOP"?
A "CCOP" can be a group of hospitals and/or private practices that apply and receive a CCOP grant for their participation in NCI-sponsored clinical trials. There is significant variation in size of CCOPs. Some consist of one or two local hospitals, while others span organizations across several states. The program is geared toward groups of organizations or private practices that can accrue at least 50 patients to treatment trials and 50 participants to cancer prevention and control trials annually. To qualify, potential CCOPs applicants should be able to implement existing NCI-sponsored cancer treatment and prevention and control clinical trials and must demonstrate an established record of accrual to such trials. University hospitals may be a component of a CCOP but cannot be the lead organization.
A Minority-Based CCOP (MB-CCOP) must meet the same criteria as the CCOP, but 40% of new patients/participants must come from minority populations. In recognition that many large populations of minority patients receive their medical care in academic hospitals; universities are eligible to apply for MB-CCOP.
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What is a Research Base?
A research base is a NCI-designated Cancer Center or Cooperative Group that designs, develops, and conducts cancer prevention and control clinical trials with a community-based focus. Cancer Center Research Bases can choose to limit their research scope to just cancer prevention and control or can choose to provide treatment trials as well. Cooperative Groups must provide both. Through the CCOP program, NCI has expanded and broadened the scientific focus of the Cooperative Groups from just treatment to include symptom management, quality of life, and cancer prevention. Each CCOP chooses to join one or more CCOP Research Bases to gain access to these clinical trials.
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How is the CCOP Network different than other NCI mechanisms for access to clinical trials?
The three mechanisms through which community physicians can participate in NCI-sponsored clinical trials are:
- Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP)
- Affiliate Member Institution of a Cooperative Group (old CGOP)
- Cancer Trials Support Unit (CTSU)
The CCOP network allows potential investigators to participate in a majority of Cooperative Group trials, including Phase I, II, and III trials. However, this program is not for people new to the research process. Potential CCOPs must have a proven track record of accrual to NCI-sponsored treatment and prevention and control clinical trials. CCOP grantees get funds for research costs in advance and earn 'credits' against this funding by enrolling patients/participants into trials.
The Cooperative Group Program includes researchers, cancer centers, and community physicians throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. The Cooperative Groups design, develop, and conduct treatment trials through this research network. An affiliate member of a Cooperative Group is typically a community hospital that affiliates with a member institution (academic center). Being an affiliate allows participation in all trials of that specific Cooperative Group. Reimbursement for research costs are funneled through the academic center to the affiliate after patients are enrolled on trials.
An institution or group of community physicians can be either an affiliate member of a Cooperative Group or a CCOP, but not both. Both affiliate members of cooperative groups and CCOPs can participate in the Clinical Trials Support Unit (CTSU) to gain access to additional clinical trials.
The CTSU offers individual participation in a selection of NCI-sponsored Cooperative Group Phase III trials to qualifying oncologists. CTSU members are not required to demonstrate prior experience in clinical trial participation. Participants of the CTSU have no accrual requirements and receive reimbursement for research costs after a patient is enrolled onto a trial.
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Why participate in the CCOP network?
CCOP participants have access to a large and broad menu of NCI-sponsored Phase I, II, and III trials. CCOPs can also determine which CCOP Research Bases they want as partners, trials they wish to implement, and how to manage their work flow. Additionally, some investigators have found that they have more control over their activities and budgets by being a CCOP than by participating in other NCI mechanisms to access clinical trials. Furthermore, a CCOP grant (NIH grant) is often recognized as an asset to the local community hospitals.
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What is the CCOP application process?
Interested parties must submit a grant application in response to a Request for Application (RFA). The RFA is typically issued annually in spring, with a mid-summer deadline. Instructions and application materials can be found at the following link:
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