In October 2005, MSKCC received an infrastructure award from the DOD PCRP to serve as the coordinating center of the Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Consortium (PCCTC). PCCTC research emphasizes phase II and I/II clinical trials. MSKCC, as the coordinating center, has created a consortium structure that expedites the design, initiation, and completion of clinical trials through multicenter collaboration. Under the leadership of Howard I. Scher, MD, special research emphasis has been placed both on correlative studies to better identify those patients most likely to benefit from treatment and on pharmacodynamic assessments to optimize dose and schedule.

Since the award date, the PCCTC has exceeded the RFA requirement for new protocols and has reached the specified rate of accruals. As of end of December 2008, 60 of the 78 LOIs submitted to the consortium have been approved: 27 trials are now open, 24 are closed to accrual, and 9 are pending activation. Between October 2005 and December 2008, the comprehensive total of patients accrued to consortium trials was 1,386. The comprehensive total accrual from January 2006 through December 2008 was 1,360 patients.

By creating a mechanism for the rapid design, development, and implementation of early phase clinical trials on new agents and novel approaches, consortium researchers ensure that promising scientific initiatives are evaluated rapidly in the clinic, that results are disseminated broadly, that the drug development process is accelerated, and, ultimately, that patients with prostate cancer receive the highest level of care.