The Hematology and Oncology Department at the VA Central California Health Care System (VACCHCS) in Fresno, California, is developing multiple programs to increase access to clinical trials for veterans. The department secured funding for an investigator-initiated supportive care clinical trial, which looks at the feasibility of using olanzapine to replace dexamethasone in elderly patients with diabetes who are undergoing moderate-intensity chemotherapy for prevention of nausea and vomiting. The department received a grant from the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) HOPE Foundation to help its clinical trials research team become members of SWOG. Currently, VACCHCS Fresno has 4 active industry-sponsored clinical trials to offer to veterans with myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myeloid leukemia, lung, prostate, and bladder cancers. They are in the process of getting another 4 clinical trials in the next 6 months.
“Our primary responsibility is to provide timely and excellent care to our veterans,” said Sachdev P. Thomas, MD, Chief of Hematology/Oncology at Fresno VACCHCS. “Wait time for new patients in our Hematology/Oncology clinic is less than 7 business days. We also have a walk-in clinic. Before we initiated our Clinical Trial program, we ensured that this metric for timely care was in place.”
Through the Association of VA Hematology/Oncology (AVAHO), Fresno VACCHCS oncologists and a team at the Richmond VAMC in, Virginia are currently working with the National Institutes of Health, to create a VA-specific cancer clinical trials’ filter at the website Clinicaltrials.gov. This VA-specific filter will enable, any VA physician, nationwide to easily search for available clinical trials for any cancer type, throughout the VHA.
