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Oncology

Cancer research close to home

Our cancer research program at HealthPartners gives patients access to clinical trials and research at their community hospital or clinic. We offer clinical trial opportunities to patients at all HealthPartners and Park Nicollet cancer clinic locations. Through strong collaboration and clinician expertise, we advance the science of cancer treatment and care delivery. Our goal is to benefit our patients through innovative cancer care that seamlessly integrates clinical research and quality improvement into routine care close to home.

We study the full spectrum of cancer care, from prevention, screening and early detection to diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. The results of these studies are shared around the world to improve patient care. Our experts bring research and training experience from a variety of specialties, including:

  • Early-Phase Therapeutics Program (EPTP)
  • Phase II/III clinical trials
  • Pre-clinical research
  • Clinical quality projects
  • Investigator-initiated trials
  • Partnership networks
  • Grant development
  • Survey research

 

Clinical cancer research

Providing clinical trials as an option for cancer patients is a vital step in advancing knowledge of cancer. Clinical trials may answer important scientific questions and suggest future research directions. Thanks to progress made through clinical trials, many people treated for cancer are living longer and enjoying a better quality of life.

We offer trials to help prevent, diagnose, screen and treat cancer and manage the side effects of treatment and the symptoms of the disease. These trials range from Phase I trials, the first step in testing a new treatment in humans, to Phase IV trials. Our clinical trials are available throughout HealthPartners, including  Park Nicollet Frauenshuh Cancer Center and Regions Cancer Care Center.

To learn more, patients and research collaborators can email CancerResearch@HealthPartners.com or call 952-977-5555. Information on active trials is available here:

Contact Michele Lacy, Administrative Director of the Cancer Research Center, for more information about cancer research. Read the Cancer Research Center’s 2020 highlights and Metro-Minnesota Community Oncology Research Consortium’s 2019-2020 highlights.

Regional and national partnerships

Almost all studies are conducted in partnership with HealthPartners oncologists to ensure that issues relevant to patient care are examined and that results can be used to improve care. In addition, we have longstanding, productive partnerships with local, regional and national organizations:

  • HealthPartners oncologists are active in the Metro-Minnesota Community Oncology Research Consortium (MMCORC) sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and participating community hospitals and clinics. This clinical oncology research program gives patients access to the newest therapy for cancer treatment, symptom management and cancer prevention.
  • We are members of the:
    • Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, which seeks to reduce the impact of cancer by uniting a broad community of scientists and clinicians who are committed to the prevention and treatment of cancer.
    • Cancer Research Network, a nationwide consortium of 14 nonprofit research centers based in large, integrated care-delivery systems. Through this partnership, our team has been recognized for its focus on cost-effectiveness modeling.
    • Hoosier Cancer Research Network (HCRN), an independent not-for-profit research consortium specializing in early-phase, multicenter, investigator-initiated trials.
    • Midwest Melanoma Partnership (MMP), a multi-institutional collaboration dedicated to the development of improved therapies for patients with malignant melanoma.
  • We have a formal collaborative relationship with cancer researchers at the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic, the Minnesota Department of Health and the University of North Carolina. We are a founding member of the Health Care Systems Research Network.

Investigators

*Cancer research leadership

Key projects

Early-Phase Therapeutics Program (EPTP)

Also known as a Phase 1 Program, the EPTP debuted in late 2015 at Regions Cancer Care Center. These trials give patients local access to leading-edge treatment options that, in the past, required extensive travel to other health care organizations.

Transforming how we deliver cancer care

Researchers at MMCORC are advancing one of the NCI’s newest areas of research: cancer care delivery. The goal is to transform cancer care by identifying new and unique delivery approaches that maximize clinical outcomes and patient well-being. NCI views MMCORC as a leader in this new area of research.

Impact of medical cannabis on control of cancer symptoms

New research supports early evidence that medical cannabis may help reduce the severity of nausea, pain, insomnia and other side effects associated with cancer and its treatment. In partnership with collaborators at Minnesota Department of Health, our Cancer Research Center analyzed self-reported data from cancer patients in Minnesota’s medical cannabis program. Nearly half of patients who experienced vomiting at the time of their cannabis certification reported the severity of vomiting reduced by more than 30 percent over the four months after their first cannabis purchase.

HealthPartners joins national cancer research database

HealthPartners Institute is part of a national effort to learn more about how to prevent and treat cancer. Funded by a $12 million grant from NCI, our researchers are analyzing blood, urine and saliva samples from 20,000 patients. Other organizations participating in the research include Henry Ford Health System in Michigan, Marshfield Clinics Research Institute in Wisconsin, Kaiser Permanente, Sanford Health, and the University of Illinois – Chicago.

 

Key publications