Rush MD Anderson Cancer Center is coming to Chicago. The new partnership marks University of Texas MD Anderson's seventh hospital partnership across the U.S., and is expected to expand access to clinical trials and advanced care to patients in Chicago and surrounding communities.
"Our goal is to bring our approach to team-based care and our clinical trials to communities that are far away from Houston," Peter Pisters, MD, president of MD Anderson, the top-ranked cancer center in the nation, told Becker's.
The new partnership also means Rush cancer patients will receive care that mirrors MD Anderson protocols and treatment plans. Peer-to-peer connections are another core part of the partnership, with Rush providers being able to consult MD Anderson experts on best practices and treatment decisions.
Already, Rush has many clinical trials that are accessible to patients, but the collaboration with MD Anderson is expected to significantly expand the number and types that are available, and ultimately bring new treatments to communities that would otherwise not be widely accessible for years.
"We have a very diverse patient population, and so the real advantage is we'll be able to offer clinical trials to our patient population and increase the accrual time, which is extremely important," said Amina Ahmed, MD, who will serve as the director of Rush MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Accrual time refers to the amount of time from when the first patient is enrolled in a study to when the last patient is enrolled. The ability to both expand trial sites and enroll a more diverse patient population supports efforts to advance drug discovery, leaders said.
"We [can] create new knowledge faster and we're able to take that data set to the FDA sooner," Dr. Pisters said.
Leaders at Rush anticipate an increase in volumes, in part, due to the partnership.
"We will be hiring multiple more physicians, advanced practice providers and staff," Dr. Ahmed said. "We are hiring as we would based on our volumes and will continue to do so as volumes increase."
Rush MD Anderson Cancer Center will provide care in the Joan and Paul Rubschlager Building at its Chicago campus, as well as locations in the suburbs and Northwest Indiana.