Hoosier Cancer Research Network: No Longer a ‘Best Kept Secret’

A doctor seeing patients battling cancer in the clinic is often how some of the best ideas for new treatments take root. But the doctors—typically MD-PhDs—are juggling patient care on top of intensive lab research. Finding time to execute complex clinical trials could be the death of good ideas, but for the Hoosier Cancer Research Network Inc., says Executive Director Cyndi Burkhardt. Unlike other clinical research organizations (CROs), HCRN is the only nonprofit CRO in the country, and its mission to help doctors bring their best ideas to life has not only changed the standard of care in some cases, but also sparked the organization’s exponential growth.

Burkhardt says, “for a lot of years, we were the best kept secret.” But what started small in 1984 with a dozen physicians throughout Indiana overseeing clinical trials has exploded into a nationwide network that includes the biggest players in cancer research. The comprehensive clinical trial management and support organization now has about 90 investigator-initiated studies underway.

“We’re very mission driven. Our goal is to support our physicians in the best way possible,” says Burkhardt. “When they get ideas for a study, we work with them from the very onset of that idea; we help them develop budgets for [clinical trials], try to get funding—we take it from concept through publication.”

HCRN’s network includes more than 300 clinical sites throughout the country and has grown to nearly 60 Hoosier employees. The nonprofit works mostly on Phase 2 oncology-focused clinical trials in which “we want to get to patients as quickly as possible to see if there’s reason to move on to bigger studies.” Most of HCRN’s funding comes from pharmaceutical industry partners, including Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Company.

The nonprofit is currently working with more than 60 academic investigators throughout the U.S. and is partnering with powerhouses such as Johns Hopkins University, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and locally, the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“The advantage of having a network is [the investigators] are able to take these trials—that in a lot of cases are really showing promise—across the entire network,” says Burkhardt. “We have a relationship with sites from coast to coast, contracting already in place and what’s required regulatory-wise in place. So, we can be very efficient and expedite getting these trials activated; that’s a huge benefit. The funders really appreciate that, as do our physicians.”

Burkhardt says streamlining oncology clinical trials is especially important “because, unfortunately, with cancers like pancreatic and some metastatic diseases, we know these patients may not have a long time with us.”

“Research is very hard, but oncology research is probably the hardest, because you have very sick patients, so there’s a lot of considerations as you’re introducing new drugs and need to be very mindful as we’re watching for toxicities,” says Burkhardt. “We need to get the information we need in a very timely way.”

Burkhardt says HCRN has had some “amazing publications” throughout its history, and “some of our trials have resulted in changes to the standard of care.” HCRN notes oncology research is advancing quicker than ever before with the emergence of immunotherapy, triggering the need for more studies as these drugs move quickly to market.

“Lately with cancer treatment, the trend is to look at a personalized medicine approach, where we’re looking at the patient’s tumor makeup, as well as their DNA; not all treatments work the same for all patients,” says Burkhardt. “I’m a nurse by trade, so I’ve watched drugs that have been on the market…give patients a few more months…but with this immune therapy—and some other drugs—we’re actually seeing patients who are surviving a year or two beyond what we would’ve seen before. It’s very encouraging.”

Burkhardt says HCRN is passionate about supporting physicians, recognizing it ultimately benefits patients battling cancer.

“All of our staff has been touched by cancer in some way, so helping the patient is very meaningful to all of us,” says Burkhardt. “One size doesn’t fit all [in cancer therapy], so the standard of care may start to look different in the future, and we’re a big part of determining what that will look like. That’s very rewarding.”