2014 was a year of rapid fire change and accomplishment for the Hoosier Cancer Research Network (HCRN). It’s all in a name … the Hoosier Oncology Group Board of Directors voted to change the name of the organization to the Hoosier Cancer Research Network in the spring of 2014. The decision was based on the increasing reach and scope of clinical trials conducted by HCRN. While HCRN is based in Indiana and is fiercely proud of its Hoosier roots, the organization has evolved over 30 years to become a nationally recognized not-for-profit cancer research organization with more than 150 clinical trial sites, including some outside the United States. The new name maintains the well-established ties to our Hoosier lineage while accurately describing what it is that we do: we facilitate the development of clinical trials through a Cancer Research Network.

A second major change in 2014 for HCRN was a change of address. With the office space on West 10th Street potentially being sold, the decision was made for HCRN to be proactive about finding a new residence. Fortunately, we were able to sign a lease at the old Safeco building at 500 North Meridian Street in downtown Indianapolis. The new site provides a larger biorepository facility to reflect the growing importance of banking tumor samples in the era of genomically based cancer clinical trials, adequate meeting space, and an office layout that promotes staff engagement and creativity.

HCRN in 2014 began the huge task of migration to a new electronic data capture system. HCRN migrated all existing clinical trials to the OnCore system that is supported by Forte Research Systems In Madison, Wis. Established in 2000, OnCore has been implemented by numerous research organizations across the United States, including many major cancer centers, to manage clinical trial data. The Data Systems team, led by Tim Breen, PhD, MS, CCDM, met the challenge of building all of the existing trial database in the new OnCore system and provided outstanding feedback to the Forte Research Systems corporate office about innovative modifications to allow OnCore to better accommodate multicenter clinical trials.

As Dr. O’Neil pointed out in his letter, the scientific acumen in HCRN and Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium clinical trials continues to flourish. The era of personalized medicine is now upon us, and Hoosier Cancer Research Network is ideally positioned to offer high-quality clinical trials that answer crucial clinical questions for cancer patients in communities large and small in Indiana, at Big Ten cancer centers, and at sites across the United States and beyond. We look forward to a productive 2015, with the ultimate end goal of making cancer a thing of the past.

About Hoosier Cancer Research Network

Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly known as Hoosier Oncology Group) conducts innovative cancer research in collaboration with academic and community physicians and scientists across the United States. The organization provides comprehensive clinical trial management and support, from conception through publication. Created in 1984 as a program of the Walther Cancer Institute, Hoosier Cancer Research Network became an independent nonprofit clinical research organization in 2007. Since its founding, Hoosier Cancer Research Network has initiated more than 150 trials in a variety of cancer types and supportive care, resulting in more than 300 publications. More than 4,400 patients have participated in Hoosier Cancer Research Network clinical trials.