Philadelphia, PA – February 12, 2010 – Jeffrey D. Bradley, M.D., of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been appointed the Lung Cancer Committee Chair for the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG). Dr. Bradley is the S. Lee Kling Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at the university where he is also the Chief of Thoracic Service and Director of the S. Lee Kling Center for Proton Therapy. RTOG is a National Cancer Institute-funded national clinical trials group and is administered by the American College of Radiology.
“Dr. Bradley is widely recognized as a leader in testing new therapies for lung cancer. He has been actively involved in RTOG research for a number of years and is currently the principal investigator of RTOG’s large phase III trial testing both high-dose conformal radiation therapy and a targeted agent for patients with locally advanced lung cancer,” said Walter J. Curran, Jr., M.D., the RTOG Group Chair, and the Executive Director of the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. “In 2008 RTOG identified Dr. Bradley as one of our outstanding Next Generation Investigators and his appointment to a group leadership position shows the fulfillment of this early promise.”
“The RTOG Lung Cancer Committee has a history of practice-changing innovative research and I am honored to be appointed its new chair,” said Dr. Bradley. “RTOG investigators are examining novel methods of radiation therapy delivery in clinical trials for stereotactic body radiotherapy for both operable and inoperable lung cancer patients as well as testing of the integration of new systemic therapies with optimized radiation. We hope the results of these trials will help to improve the outcomes of cancer patients.”
As the chair of the RTOG Lung Cancer Committee, Dr. Bradley will serve on the RTOG Research Strategy Committee and work closely with investigators from the group’s scientific core committees for translational research, advanced technology, symptom management, pathology, medical oncology, surgery, and pathology to develop and report on protocols designed to improve the outcome and quality of life of lung cancer patients.
Dr. Bradley succeeds Hak Choy, M.D., the Nancy B. and Jake L. Hamon Distinguished Chair in Therapeutic Oncology Research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, as RTOG Lung Cancer Committee chair. According to Dr. Curran, “We are very appreciative of Dr. Choy’s leadership of our lung cancer research for the last nine years. Dr. Choy successfully led the Lung Cancer Committee through two competitive grant renewal processes and solidified RTOG as a world leader in performing multicenter cooperative group trials examining advanced radiation therapy technology applications in lung cancer. We are fortunate that he will continue as an active member of the committee.”
The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) is administered by the American College of Radiology (ACR), and located in the ACR Center for Clinical Research in Philadelphia, PA. RTOG is a multi-institutional international clinical cooperative group funded primarily by National Cancer Institute grants CA21661, CA32115 and CA37422. RTOG has 40 years of experience in conducting clinical trials and is comprised of over 300 major research institutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The group currently is currently accruing to 40 studies that involve radiation therapy alone or in conjunction with surgery and/or chemotherapeutic drugs or which investigate quality of life issues and their effects on the cancer patient.
The American College of Radiology (ACR) is a national professional organization serving more than 32,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of radiology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.
(Source: Unedited Press Release)
