The Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) is a non-profit organization funded by the National Cancer Institute

National Cancer Institute

The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...

 with the purpose of supporting research for the prevention and treatment of all gynecologic cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

s, such as ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....

, cervical cancer

Cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is malignant neoplasm of the cervix uteri or cervical area. One of the most common symptoms is abnormal vaginal bleeding, but in some cases there may be no obvious symptoms until the cancer is in its advanced stages...

, endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer refers to several types of malignancies that arise from the endometrium, or lining, of the uterus. Endometrial cancers are the most common gynecologic cancers in the United States, with over 35,000 women diagnosed each year. The incidence is on a slow rise secondary to the...

, vulvar cancer

Vulvar cancer

Vulvar cancer, a malignant invasive growth in the vulva, accounts for about 4 % of all gynecological cancers and typically affects women in later life. It is estimated that in the United States in 2006 about 3,740 new cases will be diagnosed and about 880 women will die as a result of vulvar cancer...

, and vaginal cancer

Vaginal cancer

Vaginal cancer is any type of cancer that forms in the tissues of the vagina. Primary vaginal cancer is rare in the general population of women and is usually a squamous carcinoma. Metastases are more common. Vaginal cancer occurs more often in women over age 50, but can occur at any age, even in...

.

The GOG was founded in 1970 by a group of gynecologic surgeons

Gynaecology

Gynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system . Literally, outside medicine, it means "the science of women"...

 from 11 institutions. The formation of the GOG was the result of the recognition of the need for collaborative research in the gynecologic malignancies. Before the GOG was founded, most clinical trials were small studies from single institutions or case reports and lacked the statistical power

Statistical power

The power of a statistical test is the probability that the test will reject the null hypothesis when the null hypothesis is actually false . The power is in general a function of the possible distributions, often determined by a parameter, under the alternative hypothesis...

 to convince physicians around the world to adopt innovative treatment strategies. The GOG has now grown to include over 50 research centers and has over 160 affiliated institutions. Its members make up a multi-disciplinary group, consisting of gynecologic oncologists

Gynecologic oncology

Gynecologic oncology is a specialized field of medicine that focuses on cancers of the female reproductive system, including ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, cervical cancer, and vulvar cancer...

, medical oncologists

Oncology

Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...

, pathologists

Pathology

Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....

, radiation oncologists

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy , radiation oncology, or radiotherapy , sometimes abbreviated to XRT or DXT, is the medical use of ionizing radiation, generally as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells.Radiation therapy is commonly applied to the cancerous tumor because of its ability to control...

, nurses, statisticians

Statistics

Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....

, and basic scientists.

Over 3,000 patients are treated each year on GOG protocols. As of 2004, the GOG has completed over 300 trials and published over 550 papers.