A member of the clinical team joins pathologists and medical residents to examine and discuss new patient cases

Innovative clinical trials are a key component of NorthShore University HealthSystem’s (NorthShore) prostate cancer program. Men who choose to participate in these trials are given access to leading-edge therapies and state-of-the-art treatments that may not be available at other care centers. These trials are open to all men with prostate cancer, whether they have early-stage disease or if their cancer is more advanced.

The studies conducted here have been approved by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and by NorthShore's Institutional Research Board (IRB) to assure the safety of those who elect to participate.

These clinical research studies seek new information about prostate cancer prevention and ways to prevent recurrence in men who have already had surgery for prostate cancer. Other clinical trials are trying to identify new ways to treat men with rising PSA levels after surgery or radiation.  Innovative hormone therapies are available for men who are newly diagnosed or who have experienced a recurrence, as well as several innovative chemotherapy trials that are evaluating agents such as Vitamin D and proteins that block tumors from spreading.

Our physician-researchers are also studying new ways to protect bone health during treatment and ways to minimize and prevent skeletal damage that can sometimes result from prostate cancer.

Leaders in our research community are also evaluating the ways in which men diagnosed with prostate cancer use the resources available on the Internet to help them make important decisions about their own treatments.

For more information visit the clinical trials page or call 847.570.4193. 

Translational Research: From the Bench to the Bedside

Translational research in prostate cancer brings innovative ideas from the laboratory to patients in the doctors’ offices.  

One of the greatest benefits of the research relationship between NorthShore and Northwestern University’s Lurie Cancer Center is that physicians at both institutions collaborate as part of a SPORE (Specialized Program of Research Excellence) program in prostate cancer. One of only 11 in the country, this program is funded by a special grant from the NCI. 

Our affiliation with The University of Chicago has fostered an important research partnership between the two institutions. NorthShore is now a member of The University of Chicago’s Phase II Consortium, which is composed of academic sites and community-based institutions. Inclusion in the Phase II Consortium means clinical trials from both pharmaceutical companies and from individual researchers for the treatment of prostate cancer are available to NorthShore patients. 

NorthShore’s commitment to clinical trials in prostate cancer has also earned it a prestigious place in the Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Consortium (PCCTC), which is a national clinical research group sponsored by the United States Department of Defense. The PCCTC’s objective is to streamline the implementation and conduct of multi-institutional phase I and II trials. Consortium studies focus on the evaluation of novel agents for the management of prostate cancer at all stages of the disease. As a result of this partnership, NorthShore can now offer clinical trials developed at some of the finest institutions around the country right here in the northern suburbs of Chicago. 

Because of these programs, new laboratory findings are rapidly “translated” to active, clinical use for our patients with prostate cancer.

NorthShore's Research Institute Initiatives