What is SWOG?

SWOG Cancer Research Network

SWOG Cancer Research Network is one of the largest and most established cancer research organizations in the United States – and one of the most consequential you may never have heard of.

Founded in 1956, SWOG designs and conducts publicly funded clinical trials. These are carefully controlled studies that test whether new cancer treatments, prevention strategies, and approaches to survivorship actually work. SWOG trials have led to the approval of 14 cancer drugs, changed more than 100 standards of cancer care, and saved more than 3 million years of human life.

A Network, Not a Place

SWOG isn’t a single hospital or research facility. It’s a nationwide community of cancer researchers working together toward a common goal. More than 1,300 institutions make up SWOG Cancer Research Network, with more than 20,000 individual members – physicians, nurse oncologists, statisticians, patient advocates, pharmacists, and more – working in large urban cancer centers and small rural hospitals alike.

SWOG is one of five “network groups” that make up the U.S. National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN), supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). That means the trials SWOG runs are backed by federal funding, not pharmaceutical companies, which allows researchers to pursue questions that are in the public’s best interest, even when there’s no commercial incentive to do so.

Decades of Discovery

What started with one physician in Texas has grown into a cancer research community with members in 47 states and eight other countries. Over nearly seven decades, SWOG has tackled some of the most challenging questions in oncology and has been a leader in making cancer trials more accessible, equitable, and representative of the patients they’re meant to help.

Powered by the Public

The “public” in SWOG’s mission is intentional. Its trials are largely funded by taxpayers through the NCI, and they rely on patients who volunteer to participate. That dual foundation of public funding and public participation helps shape what SWOG studies and how it shares results.

Federal funding supports the core work of running clinical trials, but it doesn’t cover everything. Researcher travel to network meetings, early-career training programs, mentorship initiatives, and pilot projects that need proof-of-concept funding before they’re ready for federal support  – these are the gaps that philanthropy is uniquely positioned to fill. That’s where The Hope Foundation for Cancer Research comes in. As SWOG’s public charity, The Hope Foundation has provided more than $45 million to fund research, vital infrastructure, member travel and training, education, and mentoring programs that keep the network connected, productive, and growing. Hope does the work that federal dollars alone cannot.