New York City-based hospitals Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian, and patient advocacy organization the Life Raft Group have entered into a collaborative research agreement to investigate and identify the best treatment options for patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
Researchers will utilize an algorithm software developed at Columbia University Medical Center to investigate the molecular networks of GIST patients. The Life Raft Group will be responsible for monitoring the study and storing patients' clinical and molecular data.
Officials said they hope to expand the collaboration to include other academic institutions, including Philadelphia-based Fox Chase Cancer Center and Stanford (Calif.) University, among others.
"We agree that this is a historic occasion, and are both impressed and grateful for Columbia's initiative in recognizing the importance of working with the patient community. We hope that this collaboration will serve as a model for other academic medical institutions," said Norman Scherzer, executive director of the Life Raft Group.