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Research Initiatives
FAPTP collects data from member institutions to conduct epidemiologic studies, clinical trials, and cancer-control protocols. Staff members respond to data requests from private and government agencies, as well as print media.
The Florida Cancer Data System (FCDS) captures data from patients treated outside the FAPTP system and can be linked with the SPIRS data to study a larger patient base. With the combined data set, FAPTP staff identified the incidence of pediatric cancer in Florida. Studies and projects currently open include:
- calculating the incidence of pediatric cancer in each of Florida’s 67 counties to identify temporal or geographic trends that warrant further investigation
- examining possible association between environmental hazards and potential cancer clusters
FAPTP is active in the development of new cancer-control studies. Two current studies have been approved by the NCI for cancer-control credit as intergroup studies with COG.
- Dr. Jennifer Mayer (ACH/USF) co-chairs a HLMCC Research Base protocol on nutrition entitled, The effect of cyproheptadine hydrochloride (Periactin) and megestrol acetate (Megace) on weight in children with cancer/treatment related cachexia (HLMCC 0205) http://ccop.epi.usf.edu/guest/periactinmegace.html
- Drs. Eric Sandler and Scott Bradfield (Nemours Jacksonville) co-chair a HLMCC Research Base protocol on neurotoxicity entitled, Glutamic Acid to Decrease Vincristine Toxicity in Children with Cancer (HLMCC 0402) http://ccop.epi.usf.edu/guest/0402Glu.html
FAPTP programs have also been involved in the following studies:
- With All Children’s Hospital of St. Petersburg, Florida, FAPTP accrued patients for the Bone Marrow Transplant Lung Disease in Pediatrics: A Cohort Study. A primary objective of this study was to identify risk factors which may be associated with the development of post-bone marrow transplant lung disease.
- The Florida Registry of Pediatric Blood Disorders was the first statewide patient data repository for children with certain hematologic disorders in Florida and Puerto Rico and, through follow-up FAPTP assessed the natural history of these hematologic disorders in children.
- A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study to determine whether daily oral administration of megestrol acetate (Megace) in children with cancer-associated cachexia improves appetites and quality of life and results in weight gain.
- Two studies were conducted by researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) Department of Ophthalmology: the Incidence of Surgically Treated Uveal Melanoma by Race and Ethnicity, (published in OPHTHALMOLOGY, Vol. 105: No. 6, June 1998), and Malignant Tumors of the Orbit (published in OPHTHALMOLOGY, Vol. 10: No. 1, January 1998).
- Determined the efficacy of using a population-based registry to identify the treatment aspects of pediatric cancer in Florida. (published in the May 1993 issue of CANCER).
- Established socioeconomic and demographic factors which predict whether children in Florida receive their cancer care at centers with, or without, specialized resources for diagnosing and treating pediatric cancer (published in Vol. 46, No. 6, 1993 issue of the JOURNAL OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY)
- Examined the patterns-of-care of pediatric patients in Florida in order to identify the type(s) of treatment provided to these patients and their survival status (published in Vol. 80, No. 11, 1993 issue of the JOURNAL OF THE FLORIDA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION).
- Determined why patients are not enrolled on frontline therapeutic clinical trials; to decrease barriers to enrollment and, thus, increase the number of patient enrollments on available protocols.
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