Each year, physician researchers and research staff from across the country travel to ASCO headquarters in Alexandria, VA, to attend a unique meeting: the ASCO Research Community Forum Annual Meeting. Attendees focus on sharing best practices for effectively conducting and managing clinical research, and developing solutions to common challenges that affect the research community.

Described by an attendee of last year’s meeting as “always informative and relevant,” the ASCO Research Community Forum Annual Meeting is at the forefront of the work of the ASCO Research Community Forum, which was established in 2010 to support clinical research sites, particularly those in community-based settings.

This year’s ASCO Research Community Forum Annual Meeting will be held September 24-25, 2017, at ASCO headquarters. As in previous years, the 2017 meeting will include networking events, discussion sessions on the latest research issues, and presentations by leaders in the cancer research field. A training workshop will also be held on the first day of the meeting.

Last year’s ASCO Research Community Forum Annual Meeting offers a helpful snapshot into what attendees can expect at the meeting in September 2017. Held last fall, the 2016 meeting was the forum’s most widely attended Annual Meeting yet, with nearly 100 participants from all types of research sites across the country.

ASCO past president Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, delivered the keynote address, highlighting the persisting issue of low clinical trial participation in cancer research. Although 85% of patients with cancer receive their care at community sites, only 3% to 5% participate in clinical trials there.¹ Dr. Vose noted that the high cost of trials and problems with patient access and accrual are only some of the factors that contribute to this low enrollment.

Additional speakers and panel discussions touched on a range of other research issues, including adaptive clinical trial designs and the role of research in value-based care. Following these presentations, the remainder of the meeting was dedicated to generating solutions—a defining feature of this event, according to ASCO Research Community Forum Council chair Michael A. Thompson, MD, PhD.

“The meeting is a great opportunity for people of like minds to meet, share information, and problem solve,” Dr. Thompson said.

Attendees broke into small groups to brainstorm solutions to common administrative and regulatory burdens faced by cancer research sites, and presented these ideas to the larger attendee group for discussion. These breakout sessions were some of the most popular of the meeting. As one attendee commented, “I really enjoyed the discussion and hearing everyone in the group expressing their thoughts and ideas. We can learn so much from each other.”

The ASCO Research Community Forum Council, and the forum’s working groups, will continue to discuss and act on the solutions developed at last year’s meeting to create resources to assist cancer research sites with managing research programs and conducting clinical trials.

To register for the ASCO Research Community Forum 2017 Annual Meeting and learn more about what’s in store this year, visit asco.org/research-community-forum. You’ll also find helpful, free tools and resources for research sites developed by the forum, including the ASCO Research Program Quality Assessment Tool, ASCO Clinical Trial Workload Assessment Tool, and a clinical trial resources library.

References

1. Cohen GI. CA Cancer J Clin. 2003;53:73-81.