Dear COMPPARE team, participants, stakeholders and friends,
I am pleased to report that as of August 20 we have enrolled 1,783 prostate cancer patients in COMPPARE, while striving to reach our accrual goal of 900 Pragmatic Proton patients by the end of August.
We are working hard to achieve these goals despite another looming obstacle: the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19. As cases rise again across the country, I want to remind everyone that authorized vaccines prevent severe disease, hospitalization, and death from the Delta variant, which is particularly important for men who are currently receiving prostate cancer treatment, or those who are immunocompromised due to past treatment. In addition, proton therapy centers and radiation oncology clinics across the country are working to protect patients from COVID-19 as they undergo lifesaving treatment. We’ve compiled some Frequently Asked Questions to help patients and their families prepare for proton therapy, IMRT or SBRT during the surge – revisit our FAQs here.
In the meantime, on a more positive note, COMPPARE has achieved both a remarkable overall accrual rate and a remarkable accrual rate of minorities. In fact, the study stands to become a model for patient-centric clinical research in the future. For this reason, COMPPARE has been asked to participate in the seventh annual meeting of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), which will be held virtually in November. COMPPARE panelists will contribute to a session focused on diversity and inclusion in research entitled “The benefits of engagement: building partnerships to help move health research toward trust and equity.”
The late outcomes of COMPPARE will be far more important than its early outcomes, for many reasons, and efforts will begin next year to obtain funding for increased follow-up. I continue to marvel at the dedication of our administrative team, partner sites, Patient Stakeholder and Minority Engagement Groups, and our enrollees as we work together to make a difference in the lives of all those facing a prostate cancer diagnosis.
To learn more about the COMPPARE study, visit https://comppare.org/about/study-details/.
In good health,
Nancy Mendenhall, MD
COMPPARE Principal Investigator