Florida Cancer Specialists’ Research To Be Published at American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Annual Meeting

Clinical Trial Research To Be Published from 36 FCS Studies, Including 20 from Phase 1 Program

Fort Myers, FL – May 31, 2018 . . . Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) is pleased to announce that there are a record 36 research studies co-authored by FCS physicians that will published and/or presented at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, which will be held in Chicago, IL, June 1 – 5, 2018. Expected to draw over 30,000 attendees, the ASCO annual meeting is the largest gathering of oncologists in the world. This year’s theme is “Delivering Discoveries: Expanding the Reach of Precision Medicine.”

20 of the FCS co-authored publications are from research done through the FCS Phase 1 Drug Development Unit (DDU) in Sarasota, FL, led by Dr. Manish Patel, Director of Drug Development, and Dr. Judy Wang.
Dr. Patel said, “A high percentage of the publications from the DDU trials include early and senior authorships. It is particularly gratifying that the DDU has contributed so much to the body of knowledge about new cancer treatments and research. Our strong relationship with Sarah Cannon Research Institute is pivotal to this success.”

Additional FCS physician investigators who will be published at ASCO include Drs. Rasha Beg, Gustavo Fonseca, Lucio Gordan, Lowell Hart (FCS Scientific Director of Clinical Research), William Harwin (FCS Founder, President & Managing Partner), Maen Hussein, Scott Lunin, James Reeves (FCS Director of Research Operations), and Gerald Sokol.

FCS CEO Bradley Prechtl, MBA, said, “As a statewide strategic partner of Sarah Cannon Research Institute, one of the leading clinical trial organizations in the world, Florida Cancer Specialists is dedicated to refining the science and the study of malignancies and sharing knowledge and new findings that will rapidly advance and improve cancer treatments for our patients. The fact that we have so many publications accepted by ASCO is a reflection of the strong commitment to clinical research at FCS.”

FCS President and Founder Dr. William Harwin added, “The research program at Florida Cancer Specialists rivals that of most academic medical centers. With the drug development unit in our network, there is a dedicated program of Phase 1 Clinical Trials that puts FCS on the cutting-edge of identifying newer targeted and immunotherapies that are changing the future of cancer treatment. Over the past three years, the majority of new cancer drugs approved for use in the United States were studied in clinical trials with FCS participation, prior to FDA approval. This means that, as a community practice, we are able to bring these potentially life-saving advances to our patients in their own communities.”

Recognized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) with a national Clinical Trials Participation Award, FCS offers patients access to more clinical trials than any private oncology practice in Florida. In the past 3 years, the majority of new cancer drugs approved for use in the U.S. were studied in clinical trials with Florida Cancer Specialists participation.* Our physicians are consistently ranked nationally as Top Doctors by U.S. News & World Report. Trained in such prestigious medical schools and research institutes as Duke, Stanford, Harvard, Emory, M.D. Anderson, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering, the physicians of Florida Cancer Specialists provide leadership and consultation in the state’s leading hospitals.

FCS serves patients on the Gulf Coast from Naples to the greater Tampa Bay area, north as far as Tallahassee, in Orlando and surrounding Central Florida communities, and on the East Coast from Palm Beach County to the Jacksonville area.

Florida Cancer Specialists has built a national reputation for excellence that is reflected in exceptional and compassionate patient care, driven by innovative clinical research and cutting-edge technologies that help advance targeted treatments and genetically-based immunotherapies, and embodied by our outstanding team of highly-trained and dedicated physicians, clinicians and staff.