Mission Viejo’s Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center has formed a research partnership with City of Hope Cancer Center as part of a national initiative to improve breast-cancer treatment.
Mission Hospital, a member of Orange-based St. Joseph Health System, will be participating in a year-long research project that will assess the patterns and quality of care given to breast cancer patients at its regional cancer center. The study is being assisted by a $200,000 research grant awarded the Duarte-based City of Hope by the National Cancer Institute.
“This further enhances our research programs,” said Linda Standiford, Mission Hospital’s interim director of outcomes management. Mission Hospital has 30 clinical trials under way, according to Standiford.
Information on patient demographics, clinical data and outcomes will be put in a database maintained by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and used by the cancer institute in developing guidelines for breast-cancer care.
Mission is one of four Southern California community hospitals tapped by the City of Hope to widen its pool of data.
“Our patients are of particular interest to them,” Standiford said. “The incidence of breast cancer in Orange County is one in seven. Nationally, it’s one in nine.”
Previous research projects haven’t been able to find a specific reason for the higher incidence of breast cancer among Orange County women, Standiford added.
She said that City of Hope also is interested in information on OC communities that are considered underserved by healthcare. n
