A partnership between Marshfield Clinic Health System, Gundersen Health System and ThedaCare received national recognition by the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group for its role in enrolling participants into biomarker-driven cancer research projects.

Together the organizations form the Wisconsin National Community Oncology Research Program​ (WiNCORP), which is a National Cancer Institute-supported network that brings cancer clinical trials and research to people in their communities. Cancer Care and Research Center at Marshfield Clinic Research Institute leads the partnership for the Health System.

WiNCORP was one of 30 sites to receive the award from ECOG-ACRIN. Those 30 sites were chosen from nearly 1,500 sites that make up ECOG-ACRIN. ECOG-ACRIN used accrual information; clinical data quality and timeliness; compliance with requirements for laboratory sample submissions; scientific leadership; and many other factors to decide which programs should be recognized.

“We continue to demand excellence when it comes to providing patients with cancer care. We believe clinical trials to be an important part of that care," said Adedayo Onitilo, M.D., Ph.D., principle investigator for WiNCORP and Cancer Care and Research medical director. “Our collective research efforts were once again recognized at a national level. I continue to be proud of our team and the work they put in every day to ensure every patient gets the best care possible."

WiNCORP also has previously received awards from the National Cancer Institute for oncology clinical trial enrollments. Marshfield Clinic Health System participates in many clinical trials in different specialties, including more than 120 oncology clinical trials actively enrolling adult and pediatric patients.

“We are lucky to have great leadership, physicians that continually put the needs of patients first and are engaged in research, and a team that is all about advancing research," said Ernest James, research administrator for Cancer Care and Research Center.

As a member of WiNCORP, the Health System and its partners provide access to clinical trials to over 680,000 community members within its collective, largely rural, service area spanning most of Wisconsin, upper Michigan and adjacent counties in northern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota. WiNCORP has accrued thousands of individuals for clinical trials during the program's more than 30-year history.