Coalition and Newsweek Announce Exceptionally High Awareness Scores for Cancer Clinical Trials Special Section.

NEW YORK -- 95 Percent of Respondents Who Noted the Section, If Diagnosed with Cancer, Would Be Likely to Investigate Cancer Clinical Trials as a Result of Reading the Section

A study released today shows that cancer patients and the public are more willing than ever to consider participating in cancer research as a result of awareness efforts by the Coalition of National Cancer Cooperative Groups and Newsweek. Ninety-seven percent of readers surveyed in the study conducted by NOP World remembered seeing the eight-page advertising section on cancer clinical trials that appeared in the June 7 issue of Newsweek magazine. Of those who recalled seeing the section, 98 percent found it very or somewhat informative and 95 percent said they will investigate clinical trials as a treatment option if confronted with cancer.

"Scores of this magnitude are normally reserved for editorial content," said Martin Geraghty, Vice President of the Starch Communications Division of NOP World. "This indicates that readers were highly involved with the content in the section, and the readership of this section is among the highest we have ever seen for this kind of advertising."

The special section, "Knowledge is Power, Educate Yourself Now on Cancer Clinical Trials," is part of a multi-year effort conducted by the Coalition of National Cancer Cooperative Groups in partnership with Newsweek. Although cancer is a major public health issue--with nearly 1.4 million newly diagnosed cases each year--previous studies have shown that the vast majority of Americans do not know that they may be able to participate in a cancer clinical trial as a treatment option.

The Coalition is leading the cancer community in a national campaign to raise awareness of clinical trials using the mass reach of Newsweek magazine. "These findings confirm that many Americans need accurate, reliable information about cancer treatment options such as clinical trials," said Robert L. Comis, M.D., Chairman and President of the Coalition of National Cancer Cooperative Groups. "Newsweek has proven to be an outstanding vehicle for communicating this important health message."

The Newsweek/Cancer Coalition partnership included the special section running in Newsweek's national edition, plus distribution of the supplement to over 7,000 drug stores, physicians and hospitals nationwide, and policy makers throughout Capital Hill. In addition, the Coalition sponsored a forum of leading public health and medical researchers at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. "The Coalition's message about life-saving research deserves to be heard far and wide--and we are tremendously proud that together we've designed a multifaceted program that reaches millions of Americans," said Newsweek President and Chief Operating Officer Harold Shain.

Additional exceptional research points from the NOP World study include:

--Half of those who remembered seeing the section (Noters) were aware of Clinical Trials before reading this section. Awareness levels of Clinical Trials are numerically higher, as compared to a similar study in 2003 (50% in 2004 vs. 42% in 2003).

--Nearly all (99%) of those who Noted the section found the subject matter to be at least somewhat important. Seven out of 10 felt the subject was very important.

--Slightly less than half (49%) were unaware of Clinical Trials before seeing this section. Among this group, all Noters stated they currently feel positive toward Cancer Clinical Trials as a result of this section (68% now feel very positive and 32% somewhat positive).

--Respondents are significantly more likely to take some action as a result of reading the section, based on the current research compared to the 2003 data (92% in 2004 vs. 79% in 2003).

--More respondents from the current research showed an inclination to speak to their Doctor about Clinical Trials compared to the 2003 data (57% in 2004 vs. 43% in 2003).

Finally, the NOP study confirmed that cancer patients and the public have a need for more information about cancer research. Respondents stated: "I think the section should be published more often, it's great information;" "Very informative and inspiring;" and "It's very well written--easy to understand and it gets right to the point."

For the complete study or more information about cancer clinical trials, visit http://www.CancerTrialsHelp.org/static_binary/1680-9.pdf.

Starch Communications is a division of NOP World, a top-ten global market research firm, which comprises some of the most renowned U.S. and European research firms into a single global organization, including Allison-Fisher, Mediamark Research Inc., Market Measures/Cozint, and RoperASW.