The Alliance/American College of Surgeons Clinical Research Program (ACS CRP) and the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Research Committee will cosponsor a course, Clinical Trials for Surgeons: Hurdles and Opportunities, which will take place March 23, 2018, at the SSO Annual Cancer Symposium, Chicago, IL.

This two-hour course will provide a systematic introduction to clinical trials research for senior trainees and junior faculty, with the goal of enabling surgeons to confidently enroll patients in national clinical trials, increase participation in trials research, and interact with the national clinical trials cooperative group infrastructure. The course will be moderated by Y. Nancy You, MD, MHSc, FACS, Vice-Chair, ACS CRP Education Committee, and by Darren Carpizo, MD, PhD, FACS, and Thomas Aloia, MD, FACS, from the SSO Research Committee.

The course will begin with an overview of the critical importance of surgeon participation in national oncology trials. The first part of the course will describe the local and national infrastructure necessary for clinical trials research, including trial sponsors, funding agencies, and regulatory bodies. These concepts will be illustrated in a case study of an ongoing trial of the NRG oncology group in breast oncology.

The second hour of the course will focus on the practical aspects of participating in a clinical trial, including correlative sciences, patient-reported outcomes, and leveraging a variety of practice settings. These concepts will be illustrated in a case study of an ongoing Alliance trial in colorectal oncology.

Contact Amanda Francescatti ([email protected]), Senior Manager, Alliance/ACS Clinical Research Program, for more information about the course.