Clinical Protocol, Data Management and Informatics

Principal Investigators: Melanie Royce, MD, PhD; David Garcia, MD

One of the UNM Cancer Center’s major goals is to develop new treatments for cancer patients. These new treatments must be tested using clinical research. The Clinical Protocol, Data Management and Informatics (CPDMI) Shared Resource is responsible for administrating the clinical trials of the UNM Cancer Center. This administration includes implementing and regulating clinical trials, and providing a centralized clinical trial database, investigational pharmacy support, financial accounting, data safety monitoring and quality assurance. These elements are essential for testing new cancer treatments.

The CPDMI Shared Resource administrates clinical oncology research at the University of New Mexico (UNM) Cancer Center under the supervision of the Clinical Research Committee. The Executive Director of the CPDMI is Terry Stewart. The CPDMI includes clinical informatics effort led by Dr. Phil Kroth, and a clinical trials imaging effort led by Dr. Steve Eberhardt.

In FY2008-2009, the CPDMI Shared Resource administrated 327 Cancer Center protocols, of which 114 were therapeutic/interventional trials. At UNM Cancer Center outpatient clinics, 2,640 new cancer patients were treated in fiscal year 2009, and there 443 of them participated in therapeutic trials (17% of new patients), with an additional 101 patients supervised by the CPDMI at New Mexico Cancer Care Alliance affiliate sites. There were 1,241 patients who participated in all types of trials using the CPDMI fiscal year 2009. Of patients accrued to therapeutic clinical trials, 83% were women, 7% were Native Americans, and 44% were Hispanics. During the same period, the UNM Cancer Center patient population was 56% women, 11% Native Americans and 34% Hispanics.

Please go here for more information on UNM Cancer Center clinical trials.