Scott & White Healthcare and American Cancer Society Enter Into Partnership for National Cancer Prevention Study

TEMPLE, Texas, Oct. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Scott & White Healthcare and the American Cancer Society have announced a joint collaboration for the Cancer Prevention Study – 3 (CPS-3), the first study of its kind in more than 20 years. The American Cancer Society CPS-3 study is enrolling at least 300,000 adults from various racial/ethnic backgrounds from across the U.S., to better understand how to prevent the disease.

Scott & White Healthcare is the first, and to date only, health system to form such a partnership with the American Cancer Society (Society) High Plains Division which covers a six-state area (TX, OK, MO, NE, KS, and HI).  Scott & White will host enrollment sites and recruit community members to join the study and the Society will follow these participants for 20-30 years. Enrollment sites will be at Scott & White hospitals in Temple, Waco, and Round Rock, and potentially other locations at a later date. The enrollment period will be from late March until early April 2012.

Men and women between the ages of 30 and 65 years who have no personal history of cancer are invited to join this historic research study. The first CPS study, conducted in the 1950s, discovered the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. The second such study which began in the 1980s and is still ongoing determined the link between obesity and the risk of cancer occurrence. CPS-3 will give researchers the ability to examine how not only lifestyle impacts cancer risk but genetic factors, hormonal factors and other markers in the blood that are also related to the development, or prevention, of cancer.

"This partnership is another milestone in our journey to becoming an NCI-designated cancer institute," said Andrejs E. Avots-Avotins, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of the Board of Directors at Scott & White Healthcare, and member of the Board of Directors of the Society's High Plains Division.  

"There are millions of people who have avoided a diagnosis of cancer because of the results of our first two prevention studies. This new study will help us determine how behaviors and lifestyles might lead to cancer," said Mike Dany, CEO of the Society's High Plains Division. "Currently, there are no other studies of this magnitude in the U.S. that enable researchers to look at various racial and ethnic populations and cancer risk."  

The Scott & White Cancer Institute, which includes the Vasicek Cancer Treatment Center in Temple, offers highly-specialized and coordinated care throughout the entire Scott & White system. Patients and families have one-stop access to cancer diagnosis and treatment, backed by medical research and education. The Cancer Research Institute (CRI), a non-profit arm of the Scott & White Cancer Institute, accelerates the development of new therapies for human diseases. Universities, investigators, foundations and companies bring their discoveries to the CRI to complete the steps for introducing new treatments to the clinic.

"Collaborating with The American Cancer Society is an important step forward for the Scott & White Cancer Institute, the people of Central Texas and the nation in our shared fight against cancer," said Subhakar Mutyala, M.D., director of the Scott & White Cancer Institute and chairman of the department of radiation oncology.

CPS-3 is a grassroots effort where local communities from across the country can support cancer research not just through fundraising efforts, but also by participating in this historic research study. For more information about CPS-3 and eligibility, please visit www.cancer.org/cps3.

To make an appointment and find specific enrollment times and locations (which will take place in March and April 2012) please visit cancerstudy.sw.org  

About Scott & White Healthcare (sw.org)

Scott & White Healthcare is a non-profit collaborative health care system established in 1897 in Temple, Texas. Among the leading health care systems encompassing one of the nation's largest multi-specialty group practices, Scott & White provides personalized, comprehensive and the highest quality health care enhanced by medical education and research. Scott & White Healthcare includes 12 hospital sites, two additional announced facilities, more than 60 clinic locations throughout Central Texas and staff exceeding 13,000 (including more than 900 physicians and scientists and nearly 400 specialized health care providers). Get the latest news from Scott & White Healthcare by visiting our online newsroom, News blog or on Twitter (@swhealthcare).

About American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end cancer for good. As a global grassroots force of three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping you stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early, helping you get well by being there for you during and after a diagnosis, by finding cures through groundbreaking discovery and fighting back through public policy. As the nation's largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.5 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.

SOURCE Scott & White Healthcare