Cancer Research

Clinical Trials

John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center has more than 350 ongoing clinical trials at every stage of development, especially Phase I studies, and teams devoted specifically to clinical research across every subspecialty of cancer. Our clinical researchers have played a critical role in the development of many of the prominent anticancer drugs used in oncology.

Today, we are conducting more clinical trials than any other cancer center in New Jersey. Our physicians and nurses screen every patient for clinical trial eligibility and enroll more than 1,500 patients each year in these pivotal research studies.  Through our unique collaborations with industry sponsors - including large pharmaceutical companies headquartered in New Jersey - we offer studies of novel agents that are not available elsewhere, from promising targeted therapies to immunotherapies.

You can receive the latest evidence-based treatments closer to where you live and work, across the entire Hackensack Meridian Health network. 

Patients who come to John Theurer Cancer Center for a clinical trial benefit from:

• A committed team: Our clinical research team includes more than 100 team members across every subspecialty of cancer who are solely dedicated to the research program.
• Collaboration: John Theurer Cancer Center is a part of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. The collaboration shares passion and expertise in research which help to develop new therapies and understand cancer at the population level. The goal of this research collaboration is to improve outcomes for patients with cancer or to prevent them from getting it in the first place.
• Convenience: We are actively expanding our oncology research program so that patients can receive the latest treatments closer to where they live and work, across the entire Hackensack Meridian Health network. 
• Expertise in early-phase trials: Our Phase I Clinical Trials Program enables patients to receive innovative therapies at the earliest stage of their development. We have the highest number of early phase clinical trials in New Jersey. Most clinical trials for immunotherapy-refractory patients are Phase I or IB.
• High volume: We are conducting hundreds of clinical trials - more than any other cancer center in New Jersey- independently and in partnership with research and pharmaceutical companies, research consortiums, patient advocacy groups, and the National Institutes of Health.

Phase I Research Unit

Phase I studies are the first step of evaluation of a new drug in patients. Our program offers you the earliest access to promising new anticancer therapies, including novel combinations at the earliest stage of development. JTCC has the largest number of early-phase clinical trials in New Jersey.