Georgia stakes prominent claim in national research group with three new members approved

1/30/2013

On Jan. 24-27, gynecologic oncologists affiliated with Georgia CORE joined Principal Investigator Sharad A. Ghamande, MD; Co-Principal Investigator James J. Burke, MD, FACOG, FACS; president Nancy Paris; and Data Manager Joni Shortt at the Gynecologic Oncology Group's 86th Semi-Annual Meeting in San Diego. Georgia CORE is a member of the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG), a national cooperative group supported by the National Cancer Institute. “Providing an important opportunity for collaboration among gynecologic oncologists throughout the state, the Georgia CORE GOG Consortium has continued to grow over the past five years,” said Paris. Last year, Georgia CORE exceeded the required 150 membership points by about 125 percent, with a total of 338 points for the year. This year, Georgia CORE proposed three new members of the consortium, and all were approved. The Lewis Cancer and Research Pavilion at St. Joseph’s Candler in Savannah, Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville and Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta will begin enrolling patients for the GOG in the next month. With discussion on the most current state of clinical and basic research in gynecologic cancer, the semi-annual meeting provided an exchange of information and a forum to establish criteria for evaluation of protocol compliance and review. “This endeavor gives Georgia CORE an opportunity to demonstrate the feasibility of implementing an inclusive, high-quality statewide membership within a national cooperative group,” said Paris. “It’s also consistent with our mission to improve the quality of cancer care by strengthening clinical research.” To find out more about the Georgia CORE GOG Consortium, please visit the Georgia CORE web site or contact Paris at nparis@georgiacore.org, 404-588-4083.