June 13, 2011
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Dr. William Carson III, a surgical oncologist who also serves as associate director of clinical research for The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, will become the next vice-chair of the SWOG Melanoma Committee.
SWOG, formerly known as the Southwest Oncology Group, is one of the largest National Cancer Institutes who supports cancer clinical trials cooperative groups in the United States. Its primary mission is to improve the practice of medicine in preventing, detecting and treating cancer. Since 1990, the SWOG Melanoma Committee has conducted 35 studies involving almost 3,500 patients with melanoma and other cutaneous malignancies.
Carson will succeed Dr. Lawrence Flaherty of the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit. As vice-chair, Carson will help develop new clinical trials in melanoma and work to engage new investigators in the cooperative group process both at Ohio State and at other institutions across the United States. Through Carson's selection, Ohio State will become a special member of SWOG and will start enrolling melanoma patients on SWOG clinical trials.
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (cancer.osu.edu) is one of only 40 Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States designated by the National Cancer Institute. Ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the top cancer hospitals in the nation, The James is the 205-bed adult patient-care component of the cancer program at The Ohio State University. The OSUCCC – James is one of only seven centers in the country funded by the NCI to conduct both phase I and phase II clinical trials.
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Contact: Jennifer Mutchler, Medical Center Public Affairs and Media Relations, 614-293-3737, or Jennifer.Mutchler@osumc.edu