April 2026

Issue Contents

  • Newly Activated Studies


  • Accruals, Biospecimens, & Special Entries


  • All About AYAs


  • CCDR Corner


  • Diving In


  • Smiling Faces

Newly Activated Studies


These studies have recently activated.

More information can be found on CTSU.


  • NRG-CC017: A Randomized Phase III Study Comparing Temporally-Modulated Pulsed Radiation Therapy (TMPRT) Versus Standard Radiation Therapy with Temozolomide for Adults with Newly Diagnosed MGMT-Unmethylated Glioblastoma
  • S2419: Phase III Double Blinded Trial of Immune-Based Therapy with a Live Biotherapeutic MO-03 or Placebo for Frontline Therapy of Advanced Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma [BioFront Trial]

Research Base Meetings



SWOG Spring Meeting: April 29-May 2-San Francisco, CA

ECOG-ACRIN Spring Meeting: May 5-7, 2026- Baltimore, MD

Alliance Spring Meeting: May 13-15, 2026 - Chicago, IL

NRG Summer Meeting: July 16-18, 2026 - Denver, CO


Monthly Coordinator Call

Affiliate Site Staff Meeting (Coordinator Call)


Monthly Coordinator Meeting

Thursday, April 30, 2026

&

Thursday, May 28, 2026


The meeting will be held from

2:00PM - 3:00PM

on Microsoft Teams


If you did not receive a recurring Teams calendar invite for these meetings, please reach out to Jessica Michael, jmichael@gibbscc.org.


The links for the next calls are below

Accruals, Biospecimens, & Special Entries

Under-Represented Populations

All About AYAs

NEW CCDR PROTOCOL ALERT!!

The Wake Forest Research Base recently activated a new CCDR protocol, WF-2402CD: Collaborative Oncology between Radiologists and Radiation Oncologists for the Evaluation of Contoured Targets. This trial will test an IT application designed to improve communication between Radiation Oncologists and Radiologists regarding patient's cancer targets for radiation treatment. The trial will be limited to 4 sites and SMC is actively pursuing one of the coveted spots!

CCDR Corner

Diving In!

Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Month



April is Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Month, focused on educating people about the risks, how to prevent it, and the signs of cancers in the mouth, throat, nose, and glands that make saliva. The American Association of Cancer Research says these cancers are 4% of all U.S. cancer cases and are often linked to tobacco, alcohol, and HPV. Finding them early gives the best chance for treatment and survival. The National Cancer Institute estimates about 73,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer in the mouth, throat, or voice box (the most common head and neck cancers) in 2025, with about 17,000 expected to die.


Head and neck cancers include many types. Research shows alcohol and tobacco are the top preventable risk factors, along with certain types of HPV (human papillomavirus). NCI researchers found that these cancers are twice as common in men as in women. About 69.5% of people diagnosed with cancer in the mouth or throat will live for five years or more after being diagnosed (Jiemin et al., 2025). However, patients who receive radiotherapy or chemoradiation for head and neck cancer often have ongoing oral health problems, such as mouth sores (oral mucositis) (Villa et al., 2025). This highlights the need to manage oral health in these patients to improve their quality of life (Pai et al., 2025).


In recognition of Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Month, UC-NCORP would like to highlight a newly activated cancer control trial: Alliance A222301 (HOPE). This trial is locally led by Dr. Amy Curtis. HOPE is a phase III clinical trial that tests if the use of high-dose gabapentin can prevent the need for opiate pain medication for mouth sores (oral mucositis). The trial is for patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck region. We encourage individuals, healthcare professionals, and community members to learn more about head and neck cancer, share information, and support ongoing research to improve patient care and outcomes. To learn more about the Alliance HOPE trial, visit clinicaltrials.gov.



Smiling Faces

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Nicholas Kerl, BS

Nick Kerl has joined the Cancer Control/CCDR team as a Clinical Research Coordinator! Nick graduated with a BS in Psychology from Clemson University. Prior to this role, he worked as the Lead Pediatric Oncology Data Coordinator at MUSC's Hollings Cancer Center, in Charleston. Welcome to the team, Nick!

Do you have any staff you would like highlighted in The Connector?

Please submit it by the 15th of the month to Keira: kvanzyl@gibbscc.org




Connect with us on LinkedIn!

Administrator

Kamara Mertz-Rivera, MA, CCRC

Email: UpstateNCORP@srhs.com

Phone: 864-560-6104


CCDR Director

Melyssa Foust, MSN, RN, OCN

Email: UpstateNCORPCCDR@srhs.com

Phone: 864-560-1035


Regulatory

Josh Acuna, MPH

Email: UpstateNCORPRegulatory@srhs.com

Phone: 864-530-6523



Grant Manager

Alex Akkary, MBA

Email: UpstateNCORPFinance@srhs.com

Phone: 864-560-6967


Quality Assurance

Jessica Michael

Email: UpstateNCORPQA@srhs.com

Phone: 864-530-6510


Community & Social Media 

Keira van Zyl, BA, BS

Email: kvanzyl@gibbscc.org

Phone: 864-560-1956

2759 Hwy 14 South • Greer • SC • 29651