Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG)
RTOG, in operation since 1968, is a national clinical cooperative group that conducts clinical trials to study ways to increase the survival and improve the quality of life of patients diagnosed with cancer. Participants include 250 of the major research institutions nationally and in Canada. The primary areas of research for RTOG investigators are brain tumors, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, cancers of the gastrointestinal system (esophagus, rectum, anal canal and stomach), genitourinary tract cancers (bladder and prostate), sarcomas, gynecologic cancer (cervix), and breast cancer. During its 35-year history RTOG has conducted many studies that have improved the survival and quality of life of cancer patients, and has defined new national standards of care for cancer patients.