A central mission of the Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI) is the development and delivery of novel cancer treatment strategies for cancer patients. A significant hurdle in the translation of information from the laboratory to the clinic is the availability of appropriate preclinical cancer models. Through a number of new initiatives created by the CCR, an essential infrastructure now exists to facilitate the translational research process. These efforts include naturally occurring cancers seen in pet animals into studies of cancer biology and drug development.

The NCI-CCR Comparative Oncology Program has established a multi-center Comparative Oncology Trial Consortium (COTC) to facilitate translational cancer research in pet animals through the development of shared reagents and infrastructure useful in the study of comparative cancer models. We are pleased that you and your institution have elected to participate in the NCI-CCR COTC.

The COTC will initiate pet animal trials in collaboration with NCI investigators, academic institutions and/or the pharmaceutical industry. These trials will be implemented through the collective caseloads of the consortium membership with trial oversight and data management provided by the CCR-Comparative Oncology Program. The results of these pet animal trials will be rapidly translated into the development plans for novel therapeutics, diagnostics, and prognostics for human cancer patients. The data generated through these studies will be available to COTC members to facilitate larger investigator-initiated pet animal trials that may further complement this translational process.