Ohio State, Florida cancer centers to collaborate

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center is teaming with the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, to create what they say will be the largest known database of patients for research.

Officials at the Ohio State facility say the partnership will allow both to better develop ways to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease.

The cancer centers will be able to research the tissue and clinical data of more than 100,000 patients who have agreed to donate their information, according to The Columbus Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1jzP7ve ).

The two centers are forming the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network. Officials hope it will help them develop targeted treatments, allowing researchers and clinicians to better match eligible patients to clinical trials.

With the network, "we're amassing a true national cancer database for the first time," said Dr. Michael Caligiuri, director of the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"The collaboration across academic centers and with the health care industry will not only help speed discovery, but will also provide patients with more personalized treatment options and ultimately, lead to better outcomes," Caligiuri said.

Alan List, president and CEO of Moffitt, said potential breakthroughs have been stalled because cancer centers have lacked an efficient way to share insight.

"Even more frustrating, until today, we've had no system to quickly match cancer patients from anywhere in the country with ongoing clinical research with the most potential to help them," List said. "By partnering with Ohio State University ... we've built a cancer-research expressway."

The Moffitt Cancer Center, like Ohio State, is one of 41 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the U.S.

The two institutions say the collaborative will seek partnerships with other cancer centers in North America. It also will allow opportunities for researchers to work with pharmaceutical companies to better match potential candidates for drug trials.

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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com