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In Reply

Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC

Bercedis L. Peterson

Cancer and Leukemia Group B Statistical Center, Durham, NC

Alice B. Kornblith

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA

Jeanne Mandelblatt

Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC

Jeffrey L. Johnson, Judith Wheeler, Robin Heinze

Cancer and Leukemia Group B Statistical Center, Durham, NC

Harvey J. Cohen

Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC

Hyman B. Muss

Vermont Cancer Center, Burlington, VT

We fully appreciate the importance of the research nurse and all members of the research team in enrolling subjects to clinical trials. In fact, our cooperative group, the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB), has full working committees of nurses and of clinical research associates (CRAs), to assist in protocol design and implementation. Perhaps we did not emphasize strongly enough the breadth of participation in the intervention and the approach to dissemination.¹

Our intervention was designed for and directed at all members of the research team: physicians, research nurses, CRAs, psychologists, and social workers. We invited two to three participants from institutions randomized to the intervention arm to participate in the educational symposium. Specifically, we encouraged designation of one physician and one or more additional members of the oncology research team. In fact, the majority of persons attending the educational symposium were not physicians; of the 91 participants, only 36 were physicians. The rest of the participants were CRAs and other research personnel; titles included registered nurses, bachelor of science in nursing, licensed practical nurses, certified physician assistants, advanced practice nurse-certified, pathology coordinators, oncology nurses, pharmacists, and others. It was our hope that participants in the symposium would return to their institutions and disseminate information to their research teams, as well. To assist with this, we provided slide sets and videotapes of the symposium for use at local seminars.

Monthly mailings were sent to all CALGB members who had functional mailing/e-mail addresses within the CALGB membership directory. In addition, each month a package including printed material from monthly mailings and e-mails, protocol lists for charts, and a letter from the study chair was specifically sent to lead CRAs in main member institutions, who were then encouraged to share the information with all research and clinical staff.

We thank Ms Best for her comments and want to assure her that we are quite aware and appreciative of the role of the research nurses and other members of the clinical research team.

Authors' Disclosures of Potential Conflicts of Interest

The authors indicated no potential conflicts of interest.

REFERENCE

1. Kimmick GG, Peterson BL, Kornblith AB, et al: Improving accrual of older persons to cancer treatment trials: A randomized trial comparing an educational intervention with standard information: CALGB 360001. J Clin Oncol 23:2201-2207, 2005[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Related Correspondence

• Central Role of the Research Nurse in Improving Accrual of Older Persons to Cancer Treatment Trials
  Irene Best
  JCO 2005 23: 7752 [Full Text]

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