Cancer Research

Part of the Markey Research Network

In early 2015, King's Daughters joined with the University of Kentucky's Markey Cancer Center Research Network, a newly launched initiative conducting high-priority cancer research through a network of collaborative centers in eastern Kentucky and West Virginia.

KDMC has participated in research with Markey for more than 25 years, enrolling more than 350 patients from nine surrounding counties in nearly 50 different clinical trials. The Markey Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute designated cancer center, the only one in the state of Kentucky.

Clinical research studies are key to developing new methods to prevent, detect and treat cancer, and most treatments used today are the result of previous clinical studies. These may include studies in which patients receive their therapy under the observation of specially trained cancer doctors and staff. Patients who volunteer for cancer treatment studies will receive either standard therapy or a new treatment that represents the researchers' best new ideas for how to improve cancer care.

As a member of the Markey Research Network, the physicians at King's Daughters will offer the opportunity to consider participation in clinical research studies to their patients, with the patients remaining under the direct care of the KDMC-based physician. This allows patients to remain close to home during treatment while still receiving the benefit of the latest thinking in the treatment of cancer.

KDMC's history of cancer research

For nearly 30 years, King's Daughters Medical Center has worked with some of the top names in the field of cancer research to advance knowledge and treatment for all patients here in the Tri-State and throughout the world.

We enrolled our first patient in a cancer research trial in June 1988 - a study to assess the effectiveness of a certain drug in the treatment of breast cancer. Since that time, KDMC has enrolled hundreds of cancer patients in research studies investigating the effectiveness of new medications, medication combinations, prevention strategies and early detection efforts.

Research protocols are offered through:

The Kentucky Clinical Trials Network
The Southwest Oncology Group
The National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project
The National Cancer Institute's Clinical Trials Support Unit.

King’s Daughters cancer registry began in 1991, collecting data from all cancer patients diagnosed and treated at the medical center. This data, collected electronically, plays a vital role in the ongoing evaluation of cancer care — treatments, planning, staging and continuity of care.