Building Successful Relationships in the PLCO Cancer Screening Trial

Title:Building Successful Relationships in the PLCO Cancer Screening Trial

Volume: 10 Issue: 3

Author(s): Victoria Jenkins, Susan Yurgalevitch, Lance A. Yokochi, Vicki Shambaugh, Douglas Reding, Philip C. Prorok, Sheryl L. Ogden, Barbara O’Brien, Karen Lappe, Christine C. Johnson, Pamela M. Marcus, Rachel Jaggi, Darlene Higgins, Lisa H. Gren, John K. Gohagan, Timothy R. Church, Jeffery Childs, Saundra S. Buys and Karen G. Broski

Affiliation:

Keywords: Cancer screening, collaboration, multidisciplinary, PLCO, randomized controlled trials as subject, team science.

Abstract: Biomedical research cannot succeed without funding, knowledgeable staff, and appropriate infrastructure. There are however equally important but intangible factors that are rarely considered in planning large multidisciplinary endeavors or evaluating their success. The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial required extensive collaborations between individuals from many fields, including clinicians, clinical trialists, and administrators; it also addressed questions across the spectrum of cancer prevention and control. In this manuscript, we examine the experiences and opinions of trial staff regarding the building of successful relationships in PLCO. We summarize, in narrative form, data collected using open-ended questionnaires that were administered to the National Cancer Institute project officers, coordinating center staff, screening center principal investigators, and screening center coordinators in 2015, about 3 years after publication of the final primary trial manuscript. Trust, respect, listening to others, and in-person interaction were frequently mentioned as crucial to building successful relationships.

Cite this article as:

Jenkins Victoria, Yurgalevitch Susan, A. Yokochi Lance, Shambaugh Vicki, Reding Douglas, C. Prorok Philip, L. Ogden Sheryl, O’Brien Barbara, Lappe Karen, C. Johnson Christine, M. Marcus Pamela, Jaggi Rachel, Higgins Darlene, H. Gren Lisa, K. Gohagan John, R. Church Timothy, Childs Jeffery, S. Buys Saundra and G. Broski Karen, Building Successful Relationships in the PLCO Cancer Screening Trial, Reviews on Recent Clinical Trials 2015; 10 (3) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1574887110666150731131743