Virtually every contemporary advancement in the treatment of cancer has resulted from clinical research-research involving patients in which physician-investigators evaluate, through carefully designed and monitored scientific studies, whether a new therapy may benefit patients.

Since its formation in 1996, the collaboration of Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center and Massachusetts General Hospital, known as Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care, has consolidated the prolific clinical research programs of its three institutions into a single, fully integrated program. Doing so has not only fostered a greater exchange of ideas, which is the lifeblood of research, but has also improved the efficiency and speed with which discoveries can make their way from the laboratory bench to the patient's bedside.

The high volume and diversity of cancer patients served by Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center and Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center make it possible for physician-investigators to conduct a wide variety of clinical research designed to answer many critical questions. For example, 10 new cancer trials are activated each month and approximately 350 active therapeutic clinical trials are under way. These include studies evaluating the toxicity and effectiveness of new anticancer drugs, as well as investigations comparing the effectiveness of a new agent to a standard therapy.

Currently, more than 2,200 patients a year are enrolled in clinical research trials within the cancer centers. These patients have access to promising new therapies and, at the same time, contribute to knowledge that may lead to better treatments for all cancer patients, today and in the future.

Although innovative clinical trials are under way in virtually all aspects of cancer care, from studies of patients' quality of life to investigations of novel forms of therapy, areas of particular strength in the clinical research program include the exciting new fields of angiogenesis, clinical genetics, and vaccines.

Support for clinical research programs comes from the National Institutes of Health, national cooperative oncology groups, and private industry. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital receive more than $500 million in annual support for cancer research from the National Institutes of Health and private industry.