Our Mission...
The primary mission of the Pre-medical Cancer Immunotherapy Network for Canine Trials (PRECINCT) is to provide infrastructure and oversight to a highly collaborative and interactive network of researchers and clinician scientists working to accelerate the translation of next generation immunotherapies through comparative oncology.
Harnessing the power of the immune system to target and eliminate cancer cells and prevent relapse is now producing dramatic and unprecedented clinical responses in human patients. Identification of biomarkers that correlate with clinical responses and exploration of combination therapies that improve response rates are now important goals for the field. Pet dogs with cancer are recognized as a biologically relevant patient population which, by virtue of their spontaneous disease, natural progression and immune competence, provide an ideal pre-clinical population in which to evaluate both immunotherapies or combinations thereof and biological predictors of immunological and clinical response. Coordination of comparative clinical trials across the participating U01 sites aims to accelerate discovery and inform future human clinical trial design.
Our Organization...
PRECINCT is the first network of its kind in the comparative oncology space. It aims to ensure the success of the U01 initiatives though the provision of expert services in project management, research technology, data management, biostatistical support and immunological assessment and monitoring. Located at the Perelman School of Medicine at The University of Pennsylvania, the PRECINCT provides members access to unparalleled expertise in design, coordination, and implementation of clinical trials and data management, biostatistical support, and clinical immunological monitoring and correlative studies.
The PRECINCT is led by Dr. Nicola Mason and Dr. Qi Long. The Data Coordinating Center (DCC) within PRECINCT provides administrative support for the PRECINCT, including meeting coordination, working groups formation, development and management of documents, and distribution of study proceedings among the Data Coordinating Center (DCC); the Steering Committee and the External Advisory Committee (EAC).
PRECINCT’s Steering Committee (SC) consist of one PI from each of the five Clinical Research Centers; one representative from the PRECINCT; the NCI Project Officer and one representative from the COP of the NCI. The SC works to guide and implement policies and procedures for single site investigations and collaborative projects.
The External Advisory Committee (EAC) consists of 7 key opinion leaders who provide an unbiased opinion on study performance and outcome, including decision making regarding project status and termination if interim analysis demonstrates no benefit of the trial agent.