START and Allegheny Health Network are establishing a new early-phase oncology clinical trial site at AHN Cancer Center in Pennsylvania.

New oncology trial site planned

The START Center for Cancer Research and Allegheny Health Network (AHN) are collaborating to establish a new early-phase clinical trial site within the AHN Cancer Center at Allegheny General Hospital.

The site will expand local access to investigational cancer therapies for patients in western Pennsylvania, with the facility becoming part of START’s international network of early-phase oncology research sites.

The collaboration combines START’s expertise in conducting early-phase, community-based oncology trials with AHN’s cancer care and clinical research infrastructure.

The new site will integrate clinical research into the existing cancer care setting, allowing eligible patients to access early-phase trials closer to home rather than travelling to other centres.

Nick Slack, chairman and CEO of START, said: “The future of oncology research depends on bringing clinical trials closer to where patients already receive care.”

Early-phase research closer to patients

AHN serves patients across western Pennsylvania and neighbouring areas of Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland and New York.

Its cancer centre includes more than 200 physicians and 500 oncology professionals across 24 affiliated oncology clinics. Allegheny General Hospital is the health system’s main centre for advanced oncology care and research.

AHN Cancer Center treats more than 10,000 new patients each year and has programmes covering cancer diagnostics, genomic profiling and clinical research.

David Bartlett, chair of the AHN Cancer Center and president of the AHN Research Institute, said the collaboration will integrate clinical research into routine cancer care.

“At AHN, we are committed to ensuring our patients have access to the most innovative cancer treatments available today and those still on the horizon,” Bartlett said.

The new site is intended to reduce some of the geographical barriers associated with participation in early-phase oncology trials by providing access within an established cancer treatment network.

START expands clinical trial network

START operates more than 40 principal investigator-led research programmes across 16 locations in the US and Europe and has nearly 1,000 active studies across its network.

The AHN site will be integrated into START’s network and will have access to its portfolio of industry-sponsored early-phase cancer trials.

Early-phase trials are used to assess investigational therapies before larger studies establish their efficacy and safety in broader patient populations. Increasing access to these studies can give eligible patients opportunities to participate in the development of new cancer treatments while generating clinical data for drug developers.

Slack said AHN’s healthcare infrastructure and focus on research made it a suitable collaborator for expanding early-phase oncology research in western Pennsylvania.

The companies did not provide a timetable for when the new START site will begin enrolling patients or specify which trials will initially be available.