Abstract 41: Global Oncology Projects at NCI-Designated Cancer Centers: A Focus on Implementation Science

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: Advancing global cancer research and control in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is a key priority for the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center for Global Health (CGH). As a part of this work CGH supports a network of 71 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers in their international activities, and regularly surveys cancer centers to understand their global oncology related activities. For the 2021 survey, CGH asked cancer centers to indicate which of their global oncology projects focused on implementation science (IS), a CGH strategic priority that relates to the theme of ASGCR 2023. Methods: CGH fielded an online survey from July 2021 through January 2022 to understand cancer centers’ non-NIH-funded global oncology programs, activities, and projects. Global oncology leads and principal investigators (PIs) were asked to report project details and areas of focus. Analysis was conducted in Microsoft Excel and Python. Comparable NIH-funded awards were sourced from NIH internal systems. Results: 52 cancer centers reported details of 447 non-NIH funded global oncology projects, of which, 33 cancer centers reported 125 IS projects. IS projects covered all six Common Scientific Outline (CSO) codes, with the top code being Early Detection, Diagnosis, and Prognosis (86 projects). All coded project types were reported (research, capacity building/training, and clinical practice), with most projects categorized as research (96 projects). IS projects included collaborators from 48 countries, including 32 LMICs. These data were compared to fiscal year 2021 grants to cancer centers from the NIH Dissemination and Implementation Research (DIRH) program. While the DIRH program is not the only IS funding from NIH, only one DIRH grant to a cancer center included a foreign collaborator, suggesting that cancer centers are mostly using non-NIH funding for IS work. Conclusion: A substantial proportion of cancer centers’ non-NIH funded global oncology work is focused on IS, and further analysis of these projects is warranted. CGH will use these and other results of this survey to inform research priorities and encourage collaboration between cancer centers and international partners. These data can be used by the global oncology community to further advance NCI-Designated Cancer Center-led work in IS. Citation Format: Allison Frank, Elise Garton, Linsey Eldridge, Mishka Kohli Cira, Kalina Duncan. Global Oncology Projects at NCI-Designated Cancer Centers: A Focus on Implementation Science [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 11th Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research; Closing the Research-to-Implementation Gap; 2023 Apr 4-6. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 41.