Renown Children’s Hospital Joins the Children’s Oncology Group (COG)

Renown is home to northern Nevada’s only Children’s Oncology Group institution

Renown Children’s Hospital, in Reno, Nevada, announced that it is now a member of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), the world’s largest organization devoted exclusively to childhood cancer.

Membership in the COG allows Renown to enroll its youngest patients in the latest clinical trials, including ground-breaking treatments for many childhood cancers, studies to better understand these diseases, and trials focused on supportive care and survivorship.

Renown is now enrolling pediatric patients in clinical trials through the COG. Through this process, many childhood cancer patients will be eligible to receive newly developed therapies. For example, some trials employ immunotherapeutic drugs in addition to conventional chemotherapy, in hopes that adding the immunotherapy results in better health outcomes for pediatric cancer patients.

“When faced with pediatric cancer, the last thing parents should worry about is traveling great lengths to receive the best in cancer care,” said Larry Duncan, Vice President of Pediatrics and Surgery and Administrator, Renown Children’s. “We are proud to now offer the most advanced childhood cancer treatment options here at Renown, close to home and convenient for area patients and their families. We always strive to see more patients beat cancer, and being part of the COG helps our expert team of pediatric oncologists implement innovative and new ways to make that happen.”

According to the COG, more than 90 percent of 14,000 U.S. children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer annually are cared for at COG member institutions. As a COG member institution, Renown joins over 200 institutions including Stanford, UCSF and Kaiser Permanente in this prestigious honor. The COG is made up of more than 9,000 experts worldwide and has nearly 100 active clinical-translational trials running at once.