Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG)
LACOG - Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group - is a non-profit organization, founded in 2009 by a group of Latin American medical oncologists interested in developing clinical research.
This is the first multinational cooperative group in Latin America, exclusively dedicated to clinical and translational cancer research. LACOG currently has more than 600 investigators members present in 275 institutions from 17 Latin American countries.
The group develop observational studies to describe the diagnosis, treatment and survival of cancer patients in several tumor types, and also performs clinical trials investigating new biomarkers, novel drugs and surgical or radiation therapy techniques.
LACOG has the aim to build a network of cancer investigators in Latin America and clinical trials in the region. LACOG collaborates with international groups, academic institutions and the biotechnological/pharmaceutical industry to promote and develop innovative studies for Latin American patients.
Role
Funding applications through Brazilian agencies.
Study management in Brazil, which includes the following responsibilities:
Regulatory activities: Preparation of regulatory documents and submission to the CEP/CONEP + ANVISA system.
Site Selection and Activation: Selection of participant sites and training of the teams involved in the project at the research sites.
Activation of sites, monitoring of study recruitment, and management of study closure procedures.
Contract with Sites (Brazil): Budget negotiation and contract execution with the sites. Management of payment processing to the research sites.
Members
Werutsky, Gustavo
Gustavo Werutsky, PhD, is the Executive Director of the Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG) and Medical Oncologist of the Breast Cancer Program, Hospital Moinhos de Vento, Porto Alegre, Brazil. He serves as a member representative of LACOG in the Breast International Group (BIG) and is member of Breast Cancer Steering Committee of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) since 2022.
He was a former medical research fellow at the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 2008-2011 working in the breast and gastrointestinal cancer groups. Also, past fellow of the Flims workshop on cancer research (EORTC – NCI - AACR), Flims, Switzerland and of the ESMO translational research unit visit, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany. Graduated in Medicine at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (2003), specialization in Internal Medicine (2006) and Medical Oncology (2008) at Hospital São Lucas PUCRS, Porto Alegre, Brazil and PhD (2021) in Medicine at Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil. He is member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) and Sociedade Brasileira de Oncologia Clínica (SBOC).
Areas of interest are breast cancer research, collaborative groups, drug development and methods in clinical trials.
Barrios, Carlos
Carlos Henrique E. Barrios is a Clinical Oncologist and Professor at São Lucas Hospital, PUCRS, Brazil. He completed his postgraduate studies at the University of Miami and was a Medical Reseracher Fellow at the University of Washington.
With over 20 years of experience in oncology, he has served as the Principal Investigator in more than 150 clinical trials across Phase II, III, and IV, as well as 2 Phase I trials. Since 1996, he has been a Principal Investigator at the Center for Research in Oncology at São Lucas Hospital, PUCRS.
Rostirolla, Diana
Project Manager
Diana Rostirolla holds a PhD in Health Sciences and is specialist in Oncology. She is a Pharmacist with over 15 years of experience in Preclinical and Clinical Research.
She also has expertise in Oncology, Hematology, Infectious Diseases, Rheumatology and Cellular and Molecular Biology.
She works as a Project Manager at LACOG and lead operations with pharmaceutical industry and CROs. In the current role, she oversees the full lifecycle of clinical and epidemiological studies, from startup through study closure and publication. Her responsibilities include managing the development of study protocols, designing feasibility questionnaires, conducting site selection and activation, and driving recruitment efforts. She also ensures the integrity of data management and monitoring processes, while leading multiple teams to meet project milestones within established timelines and budgets.