Initiatives
USMCI has undertaken several initiatives to advance cancer research and treatment. Many of these initiatives will benefit not only military medicine, but also the entire field of cancer research.
BioSpecimen Network
Molecular studies are at the forefront of modern cancer investigation. USMCI' s BioSpecimen Network (BSN) was created to collect malignant and pre-malignant tissues for genomic and proteomic analysis.
Clinical care programs allow USMCI researchers the rare opportunity to procure tissue samples before DNA/RNA degradation occurs. In the DoD beneficiary population, more than 355,000 patients undergo treatment or follow-up for cancer in any one year.
At Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a USMCI site, 35 percent of those being treated for cancer who are approached for a clinical trial consent to enroll. This is in sharp contrast to the two- to three-percent response rate in civilian treatment settings.
Through the BSN, researchers can utilize these clinical samples to link, anonymously, molecular changes detected in the laboratory with DoD' s databases of longitudinal demographic and clinical data. The network is a unique resource, offering invaluable information on the relative roles of genes and the environment, as well as providing tremendous potential for answering critical questions regarding carcinogenesis.
These research advances may enhance the treatment of military service members and their dependentsÑa network of more than nine million people.
Institutional Review Board
USMCI has streamlined research efforts by establishing a multi-institutional IRB that has met with the approval of the regional commanders of all three services. The IRB will allow simultaneous protocol approval for all institutions that have signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the process. Both military and civilian cancer-focused programs are eligible to join the program.
Prior to the initiation of the USMCI IRB, military investigators had to obtain protocol approval at their own institution, as well as all other institutions at which they wished to enroll patients. This process was inefficient, expensive and time-consuming, and presented a substantial impediment to research. The new streamlined system will facilitate cancer research efforts and will promote the delivery of cutting-edge treatment to the military patient.
USMCI Human Research Protocol Application Form