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Robert L. Comis, MD is the Chairman of ITA Partners. In this role, he ensures that ITA’s services facilitate the delivery of quality cancer care nationwide.
Dr. Comis also is President and Chairman of the Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups (Coalition), Group Chair of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), and Professor of Medicine and Director of the Drexel University Clinical Trials Research Center in Philadelphia.
The Coalition is an independent, non-profit organization that represents the nation’s largest network of cancer clinical trials specialists. This network of 10 independent research groups includes over 8.000 oncologists and researchers in more than 1,700 cancer centers, academic medical centers, community hospitals, and physician practices. The groups share a goal of developing and conducting large-scale cancer clinical trials in multi-institutional settings. They perform nearly half of the nation’s federally funded cancer treatment trials and enroll nearly half of all patients participating in cancer treatment trials. The groups monitor about 150,000 patients annually in follow-up care.
As President of the Coalition, Dr. Comis has been increasingly involved in raising the level of clinical trials in cancer treatment and in preparing the group system for the future. As Chair of ECOG, Dr. Comis is responsible for the group’s entire scientific program. ECOG is one of the largest cancer research organizations in the United States. It has a network of researchers, physicians, and healthcare professionals at public and private institutions across the country. ECOG conducts clinical trials in all types of adult cancers and receives funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and other sources. ECOG’s goal is to control, effectively treat, and ultimately cure cancer. ECOG provides research results to individuals and the medical community through scientific publications and professional meetings.
A leader in international clinical trials research since 1977, Dr. Comis also is a member of the Board of Directors of C-Change and the National Coalition for Cancer Research. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer Research and Clinical Cancer Research. Previous board positions include the American Radium Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
A graduate of Fordham University in New York City, Dr. Comis received his medical degree from SUNY Health Science Center School of Medicine in Syracuse, where he also completed his medical internship and medical residency. He served as a Staff Associate at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD and completed a Medical Oncology Fellowship at The Sidney Farber Cancer Center at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Dr. Comis is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and a member of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine | 