Dr Hochster on the Role of Cooperative Trials in Academic and Community Health Care Settings

Clinical trials are important because they give our patients tomorrow’s treatment today, and so we like to bring the state-of-the-art treatments, and the ones that will be the state-of-the-art-treatments, to all our patients through clinical research."

Howard S. Hochster, MD, FACP, distinguished professor, medicine, associate director, Clinical Research, director, Gastrointestinal Oncology, Rutgers Cancer Institute; director, Oncology Research, RWJBarnabas Health, highlights the transformative role of cooperative group trials in bridging the gap between academic and community cancer centers within the RWJBarnabas Health system.

By expanding access to cutting-edge clinical trials, this integrated approach delivers state-of-the-art therapies to patients in the community setting who might otherwise lack access to novel treatments. Hochster emphasizes that clinical trials offer patients the opportunity to receive tomorrow’s treatments today, underscoring their value in advancing oncology care. Recognizing the challenges faced by community patients in accessing clinical trials traditionally concentrated at academic centers, the RWJBarnabas Health system has established a robust infrastructure to decentralize trial participation, according to Hochster. This model allows trials to be opened at hospitals across the network, bringing investigational therapies closer to patients’ homes and maintaining high standards of care, he explains.

The collaboration between RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute leverages the resources and expertise of both institutions to ensure comprehensive trial availability across a wide geographic footprint, Hochster says. This approach spans from Jersey City, New Jersey to the New Jersey shoreline, enabling clinical trial participation at smaller, community-based centers without requiring travel to the main campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Hochster notes. By integrating clinical trial capabilities throughout the system, the initiative significantly reduces logistical and financial barriers, making it easier for patients to participate in research, he emphasizes.

Key to this initiative is the focus on cooperative group trials, which are designed to test new therapies and combinations in a structured, multicenter setting, he adds. These trials are valuable in providing access to innovative treatments still in development and fostering rapid advancements in oncology care, he reports. Hochster notes that such trials allow patients to benefit from investigational therapies that may later become standards of care, thereby contributing to improved outcomes across diverse populations.

Hochster concludes that the cooperative group trial model at RWJBarnabas Health exemplifies how academic and community partnerships can democratize access to cutting-edge cancer treatments, ultimately improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of oncology.