Abstract
Background/Aims Prevention and early detection can greatly reduce cancer-related morbidity and mortality, yet little is known about how well many interventions perform in large populations and the extent to which implementation failures might be remediable.
Methods The NCI-funded Cancer Research Network (CRN) (U24CA17154) continues to build infrastructure for multi-site collaborations. The CRN provides unparalleled opportunities for conducting innovative cancer prevention and cancer screening research.
Results Advantages of the CRN include: (1) A large, diverse, membership of approximately 8.5 million individuals for studying prevention and screening across population subgroups in community-based settings. (2) Close ties to CRN health plans whose systems and providers can be intervention targets critical to the success of prevention and screening efforts. (3) Access to the primary care setting enabling study of patient-provider decision making regarding prevention and screening behaviors. (4) Longitudinal data on screening contacts, interventions, and outcomes providing a unique opportunity to evaluate “real-world” screening and prevention, and a means of identifying potentially modifiable failures. (5) Biological samples of biopsies archived for many members. (6) Nationally-recognized leaders in cancer prevention and screening. The CRN investigator-led research portfolio includes expertise in tobacco control, dietary interventions, cancer screening and early detection. (7) Long-term relationships among CRN internal and external scientists to create efficient collaborations. CRN partnerships include the HMO Research Network, NCI-designated cancer centers, federal agencies, and numerous academic institutions.
Conclusions Achieving national goals for reducing the burden of cancer will require new knowledge about how to optimize existing strategies for prevention and screening; new research focused on biologic, behavioral, pharmacologic, and molecular risk factors; and evaluation of the interactions between behavior change, personal factors, the built environment, and health care systems. For more information about the opportunities afforded by the CRN visit http://crn.cancer.gov.
