Three Chicago health systems have collaborated with a nonprofit foundation to launch the Chicago Breast Cancer Research Consortium.
The partnership between University of Chicago Medicine, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and Rush University System for Health, all based in Chicago, will make clinical trials more accessible to Chicago-area breast cancer patients and offer money for patient expenses like travel and childcare, thanks to a $1.8 million donation from the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation.
The first clinical trials will be launched in 2024 and have multiple trials running by next year, according to a March 13 Chicago Medicine news release. Research will be led by a committee, including UChicago Medicine breast cancer specialist Rita Nanda, MD, Northwestern Medicine Hematology and Oncology Chief William Gradishar, MD, and Rush oncologist Ruta Rao, MD.