VAI Joins Cancer Consortium

GRAND RAPIDS — the Van Andel Institute has been accepted as a member of the Michigan Cancer Consortium, a group of 75 public, private and volunteer organizations across the state working together to reduce the impact of cancer in Michigan.

The consortium has set 10 cancer control objectives, and partner organizations are trying to implement strategies to address those priorities within their own organizations.

“MCC priorities include doubling the number and increasing the diversity of participants enrolled in clinical cancer research by the year 2005,” said Dr. George Vande Woude, director of research at the VAI. “This priority is directly aligned with our cancer research objectives and our ongoing need for tumor tissue samples to use in this research. The availability of tissue from consenting cancer patients is vital to our success in finding new treatments and, ultimately, a cure for cancer.”

Among other priorities are increasing the number of people screened for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers; lowering the prevalence of smoking; educating prostate cancer patients about treatment options; and creating standardized information systems that assist health care providers in diagnostic, treatment and prognostic decisions.