Total Cancer Care Program

OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center is a member of the ORIEN, a personalized medicine consortium that includes some of the nation’s leading cancer centers and that aims to develop more personalized and effective treatments for cancer.

Partner centers use a common protocol, known as Total Cancer Care®, to track the molecular, clinical, and epidemiological data of consenting patients throughout their lifetimes. The resulting database of consenting patients is used by researchers to better understand cancer at the molecular level. With over 200,000 participating patients, ORIEN is one of the world’s largest clinically annotated cancer tissue repositories.

By studying data from large numbers of patients, researchers will be able to find the similarities and differences in medical history, genetics, and lifestyle. Ultimately, this information will help create more effective and personalized cancer care and treatments.

Because Stephenson Cancer Center is a member of this network, our patients have the opportunity to be a part of this growing movement to bring cancer care to a new level.

How Does It Work?

As a patient, it costs nothing to participate in Total Cancer Care, and no extra doctor's appointments are required. Participation is open to all adult cancer patients at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center. Once you are enrolled in the Total Cancer Care study, we may ask for the following:

• During regularly scheduled visits, you may be asked questions about your medical history, diet and health habits.
• Permission to review your medical records to see what you and other cancer patients have in common.
• If you are scheduled for a tissue biopsy or surgery, we may study any extra tissue or body fluids that have been removed and are not needed to diagnose your cancer.
• If you are scheduled for a blood draw, we may collect extra blood for the study.

How Will My Participation in Total Cancer Care Advance Cancer Research?

As a participant in Total Cancer Care, you will be actively contributing to the advancement of cancer care. By contributing information (such as medical records) and samples (blood or tissue), you are joining thousands of other patients across the country to help healthcare providers and researchers accelerate cancer research.

Your help is critical to the study achieving its goals, including:

• The creation of a molecular database to serve as a tool for future research.
• A better understanding of treatment options and patient outcomes.
• Data on the long-term effects of different cancers and treatment choices.

Additionally, the study offers access to a broader set of clinical trials and new treatments through our partnership with other leading cancer centers nationally. Patients will have the opportunity to find more personalized trials that are more reflective of their individual genetic make-up.

If you are interested in taking part in the Total Cancer Care study or would like more information, please ask your healthcare provider about it at your next visit. You may also contact our Clinical Trials Office.