ORIEN at the CU Cancer Center
Oncology Research Information Exchange Network
Total Cancer Care
Total Cancer Care®is a unique research study designed to bring cancer treatment to a new level. By tracking and studying data from participants, it is changing the way doctors prevent, detect and treat cancer. The Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) was created as a network of respected cancer centers that will share this information, therefore expanding the tools available to oncologists in a way that’s never been done.
The study is designed to:
- Evaluate the long-term effects of different cancers, treatment choices and lifestyle
- Give physicians a better understanding of patient outcomes and treatment options
- Help patients find clinical trials that reflect the details of their diagnosis
- Develop a molecular database that can serve as a resource for future research
More than 273,000 patients, across all ORIEN Members in the United States, have enrolled in the study since it was launched in 2006. Each new participant brings us one step closer to our goal of finding a cure for cancer. Learn more about Total Cancer Care®. To sign up for the study, please email orien@ucdenver.edu
Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN)
The Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) is a unique research partnership among North America’s top cancer centers that recognize collaboration and access to data are the keys to cancer discovery. Through ORIEN, founders Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, and The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute in Columbus leverage multiple data sources and match patients to targeted treatments.ORIEN Members are supported by M2Gen, a subsidiary of Moffitt Cancer Center. M2Gen is responsible for the tissue and data collection from patients enrolled on the Total Cancer Care protocol and the related Total Cancer Care database.
ORIEN partners utilize Total Cancer Care® which provides a standard system for tracking patient molecular, clinical and epidemiological data and follows the patient throughout his or her lifetime. Partners have access to one of the world’s largest clinically annotated cancer tissue repositories and data from more than 240,000 patients who have consented to the donation for research.
ORIEN’s mission: Accelerating cancer discovery and delivering hope through collaborative learning and partnerships. Learn more at www.oriencancer.org.
ORIEN at the CU Cancer Center
Transcript
NarratorWhat stands behind a closed door is often a mystery. The idea of coming face to face with what's on the other side can be unsettling, but also exciting. Unlocking that unknown leads to discovery, answers and quite often, hope. And hope is what these open doors represent on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Virginia Borges, MD
It's the best time in cancer medicine since I became a doc 20 years ago.
Narrator
Researchers at the CU Cancer Center and it's clinical partners at UC Health have joined a national team of cancer experts who make up Orion, the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network. Together, they are examining all cancers, they are sharing their findings, collaborating on theories, and discovering more effective therapies.
Virginia Borges, MD
This is 1000s of people across these institutions, all churning the wheel and making it happen, something that we learn from people with leukemia may turn around and give us a better cure for colon cancer and vice versa.
Narrator
The cancer patients are respected as vital partners in this massive project when consenting to total cancer care. One of them is Stephen who was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer in 2014. Stephen says he is still alive for a reason. He gives back by supporting other cancer patients on their journey, and he is also driven to give a boost to science.
Stephen Estrada-Erskine
So when the Orion project was introduced to me, I was instantly fascinated, and that unlocked a lot of doors for me. And if I could give just a little bit more blood to a hospital and they could study it just a little more, there might be more secrets of my blood that can help other patients or me down the road.
Narrator
At regular doctor visits when Stephen is already having a blood draw, just three extra tablespoons of blood are taken. Samples of that blood are then shared with Orion. Researchers across the nation, cancer patients who enroll in Orion's Total Cancer Care protocol also allow researchers to study samples of their tumors, their urine, and their health histories. All of this medical information is fiercely protected and secure. Researchers don't have any information that identifies a specific individual.
Virginia Borges, MD
They might not know who they are or where they live or what they do for a living, but there are people who will know their tumor and know their outcomes, and know if they're okay or not, and they will be contributing to us, learning as we go and rewriting what it is that we do three, five, ten years from now.
Stephen Estrada-Erskine
With the Orion project, it's collecting so much data and data that we'll never see, and we may never, we may never know how it benefits, but we know that it's helping someone. And if you can help one person not go through what you're going through, or help in the long run, cure cancer, because you signed up for the Orion project, that's an incredibly exciting thing.
Narrator
The doors are unlocked and wide open, and researchers are waiting for you to walk through and join them. Please consider becoming a part of Orion by enrolling in the Total Cancer Care protocol, you will help in dramatically changing the cancer experience for patients in Colorado and across the United States. This is our entryway to hope.