Banner Children's at Cardon Children's Medical Center has partnered with Banner Research to be approved as a Children's Oncology Group (COG) Institution. This designation partners both groups to provide infrastructure to conduct pediatric clinical cancer trials at Cardon Children's.

This affiliation will provide children and their families access to cutting edge treatments that may otherwise not be available. This prestigious achievement of being named a COG Institution comes after a year-long application process requiring hard work by team members at both Cardon Children's Medical Center and Banner Research. COG is a branch of the National Cancer Institute, the largest pediatric oncology clinical trial group in the world and partners with more than 200 hospitals world-wide.

"This designation is an honor and a testament to the stellar care we provide our oncology patients at Cardon Children's Medical Center," said Rhonda Anderson, CEO of Cardon Children's. "Our pediatric team did an outstanding job to prepare us for COG membership and ultimately our patients will benefit because they'll have the opportunity to be treated with clinical protocols that may help in their fight against cancer."

Through careful research and studies, clinical cancer trials will give children at Cardon Children's and their families more options to treat cancer-related illnesses. The team expects having their first pediatric patient enrolled in a study sometime in early 2013.