A Restructured NCORP Research Base

This week’s Front Line is co-authored by SWOG Group Chair Dr. Charles D. Blanke and SWOG Group Co-Chairs-Elect Drs. Dawn L. Hershman and Primo N. Lara, Jr.

Prior Committee Structure
The National Cancer Institute’s Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) is built from three key components: NCORP community sites, NCORP minority/underserved community sites (MU-NCORPs), and NCORP research bases.

The research bases are hubs for designing and conducting multi-site clinical trials, primarily in cancer prevention, cancer care delivery, and cancer control. 

As one of seven NCORP research bases, SWOG conducts studies across the cancer care continuum for patients, providers, and caregivers, while also working to reduce health care disparities.

When our NCORP research base was launched in 2014, we created four committees: Prevention and Epidemiology, Cancer Care Delivery, and two cancer control committees: Symptom Control and Quality of Life, and Survivorship. In 2019, we added a third cancer control committee – Palliative and End-of-Life Care, the first and still only such committee among the NCTN groups.

New Structure
However, having three cancer control committees has created overlap and duplication in studies and research questions. In addition, the definition, scope, and research needs for survivorship have changed over the years.

In response, we are consolidating to two cancer control committees, both incorporating survivorship research:

• Symptom Management and Survivorship Committee 
  • Our Symptom Management and Survivorship Committee will conduct studies to help us better understand and manage symptoms and treatment toxicities. It will also develop and carry out trials addressing questions related to early stage and post-treatment cancer survivorship. 
  • We have removed “Quality of Life” due to our PRO Core’s success. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in treatment trials are now being developed by the PRO Core or by other committees that study patient quality-of-life questions.
• Palliative Care Committee 
  • Our Palliative Care Committee will continue to address research questions related to palliative care, but the new name conveys the committee’s broader scope, which includes studying supportive care and survivorship needs of patients living with advanced or metastatic cancers.

This consolidation will also more efficiently allocate our resources to developing new protocols and conducting trials. 

Going forward, research questions will be assigned to these two committees based in part on the phase of survivorship addressed:

• Questions concerning people with early-stage cancers and those in post-treatment survivorship will be under the purview of our Symptom Management and Survivorship Committee.
• Questions about those living with advanced or metastatic cancers will be addressed in our Palliative Care Committee. Palliative care should be an essential and early part of care, according to ASCO guidelines.

Inevitably, some concepts will overlap both committees; our NCORP committee chairs and executive officers will decide such cases, with input from the NCI and other stakeholders.

Members of the former Survivorship Committee have now been added to the rosters of both the remaining committees. Current active trials and developing concepts have been reassigned accordingly.

Thank You to Drs. Melinda Irwin and Halle Moore
We owe huge thanks to Drs. Melinda Irwin and Halle Moore, who have served as Survivorship Committee co-chairs since 2017. They have also incorporated survivorship components into other trials and championed survivorship priorities across the board.

Drs. Irwin and Moore will remain active members, so our impact will continue to benefit from their vision, experience, and commitment.

If you have questions about our restructured NCORP research base, please reach out to communications@swog.org.   

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Trial of the Week

MM1YA-S01
A Randomized Phase II Study Comparing Cytarabine + Daunorubicin (7+3) vs (Daunorubicin and Cytarabine) Liposome, Cytarabine + Daunorubicin + Venetoclax, Azacitidine + Venetoclax, and (Daunorubicin and Cytarabine) Liposome + Venetoclax in Patients Aged 59 or Younger Who Are Considered High-Risk (Adverse) Acute Myeloid Leukemia as Determined by MYELOMATCH: A myeloMATCH Clinical Trial

MM1YA-S01 is the first sub-study to open as part of the myeloMATCH precision medicine umbrella trial in myeloid malignancies. The MYELOMATCH screening protocol and MM1YA-S01 both activated on May 16th.

Adults younger than age 60 newly diagnosed with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who are registered to the MYELOMATCH screening protocol may be assigned to Tier-1 MM1YA-S01.

The trial compares standard-of-care cytarabine + danorubicin induction therapy to four other induction therapies. Patients are randomized to one of five arms:

• Arm 1: cytarabine + daunorubicin (7+3)
• Arm 2: (daunorubicin and cytarabine) liposome
• Arm 3: cytarabine + daunorubicin + venetoclax
• Arm 4: azacitidine + venetoclax, 
• Arm 5: (daunorubicin and cytarabine) liposome + venetoclax

Four of the five arms include an option for reinduction therapy based on results of bone marrow examination.

The trial’s primary endpoint is measurable residual disease (MRD)-negative complete remission (CR), and multiple secondary endpoints include event-free survival and overall survival. The study also tracks the frequency and severity of toxicities and compares MRD-negative CR rates by genomic subgroups within and between arms.

MM1YA-S01 is led by Dr. Paul J. Shami, of the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute, and Dr. Tara Lin, of the University of Kansas Cancer Center. The trial has an accrual goal of 335 enrolled patients and will be open across the United States and Canada.

Learn more on the SWOG MM1YA-S01 page or the CTSU MM1YA-S01 page. The myeloMATCH overview page also provides and links to helpful information on the trial, and the NCI myeloMATCH Helpdesk is an essential resource for sites conducting myeloMATCH sub-studies.