Program Objectives and Future Plans

Promoting Inter- and Intra-Programmatic Research Collaborations

A key objective of the Prevention & Control Program is to continue promoting both inter- and intra-programmatic collaborations at UCCC. 

UCCC Symposium Series

One avenue for achieving this goal involves program participation in the on-going UCCC Symposium Series.  For example, during 2006-2007 relevant presentations included Obesity and Breast Cancer (Dr. Paul MacLean), Informed Consent in Clinical Studies (Dr. Peter Raich), a Transdisciplinary Approach to Cancer Prevention: Promoting Exercises Behavior (Dr. Angela Bryan), Non-Clinical Influences on Treatment Choices in Localized Prostate Carcinoma (Dr. Thomas Denberg), and a Multidisciplinary Approach to Elucidating Breast Cancer Etiology (Dr. Lisa Hines).

Colorado Cancer Coalition

Another key avenue for promoting research collaborations involves participation in the Colorado Cancer Coalition (CCC), including the various CCC subcommittees, and providing expert consultation in the development of the Colorado Cancer Control Plan by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.  Both of these strategic planning efforts focus on developing guidelines and priorities for both service and research.  Program members who have been active in these activities include Drs. Byers, Marcus, Buller, Crane, Levinson, Calonge and Espinoza, among others. 

Responding to New Opportunities

Finally, the Program Leadership and other program members routinely monitor program announcements, RFAs, RFPs and other funding opportunities from the NCI, ACS, CDC, and elsewhere to facilitate ad hoc planning meetings, and to coordinate and facilitate a competitive response to these opportunities.  Similarly, Program Leadership routinely organizes other ad hoc meetings and provides administrative, technical and scientific support to facilitate investigator-initiated proposals that would either renew an existing program of research, or initiate a new or emerging program of research that would leverage the strengths and previous research of investigators aligned with Prevention & Control.  Several recent examples of this process include the patient navigation research program of Dr. Raich, the LIVESTRONG Center of Excellence grant, the program project grant involving the Cancer Information Service Research Consortium, and Dr. Byers’ longitudinal cohort study of Latina and Anglo breast cancer cases and controls, all of which have been described above.

Future Plans

With the recent merger of AMC with the UCCC, plans are now being formulated for one or more new recruitments into the Prevention & Control Program.  Areas targeted for future recruitment include cancer outcomes and survivorship, tobacco control, cancer epidemiology and health services research.  Opportunities to leverage these future recruitments with the new University of Colorado School of Public Health will also be explored, reflecting on-going efforts to further integrate the Prevention & Control Program into the School of Public Health.

Cancer Survivorship

While the Prevention & Control Program will continue in its efforts to expand and extend its current portfolio of cancer prevention and control research, cancer survivorship has emerged as a high priority theme for new research and program initiatives.  For example, another key opportunity attending the AMC merger involves AMC’s Cancer Information and Counseling Line (CICL), which has provided cancer information and brief psychosocial counseling to cancer patients, cancer survivors and their families for over 25 years via its 1-800 telephone number.  Efforts are now underway to further integrate the CICL into routine psychosocial support services at UCCC, including increasing the number of on-site referrals to the CICL, and implementing an innovative callback program to proactively provide psychosocial support services to UCCC patients and survivors.  This latter program initiative is currently being implemented as part of the LIVESTRONG Center of Excellence (COE) described above.

Needs Assessment Surveys

Another program initiative (both service and research) that is being conducted by the LIVESTRONG COE involves efforts to coordinate and systematize the provision of cancer treatment summaries and longer-term care plans to cancer patients receiving treatment at UCCC.  As a first step toward this goal, a UCCC needs assessment survey is scheduled for early 2008 to assess current practices and initiate strategic planning in this regard.

R01-type Intervention Studies in Cancer Survivorship

In addition to the above, several current pilot studies (Support by Telephone for Caregivers in Hospices, Dr. Kilbourn, PI) and needs assessment surveys (Cancer Survivorship in Latinos, Dr. Byers, PI; QOL for Leukemia/Lymphoma Survivors, Dr. Parry, PI) should also provide new opportunities for R01-type intervention studies in cancer survivorship.  Also noteworthy is that two recent R01 proposals were submitted to the NCI (in collaboration with other NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers), both of which will test CICL-based telephone counseling programs in cancer survivorship.  One such proposal (Dr. Kevin Oeffinger, PI, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) will target screening mammography among young adult women who were treated with chest radiation as pediatric oncology patients.  The second proposal will target the QOL of mothers of pediatric oncology patients (Dr. Debra Friedman, PI, Fred Hutch Cancer Center).  Both of these R01 proposals reflect a new strategic plan to promote collaborations with investigators in pediatric oncology, both at UCCC and nationwide.

Cancer Patient Navigation Programs

Another emerging programmatic initiative involves cancer patient navigation programs.  As noted previously, Dr. Raich is conducting a randomized trial of a cancer patient navigation program at Denver Health Medical Center (DHMC) that is targeting breast, colorectal and prostate cancer patients.  When completed, this efficacy trial has significant potential for renewal as a dissemination study, both at DHMC and beyond.  Concurrent with Dr. Raich’s study, Drs. Risendal, Byers and others have secured funding from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (via the State of Colorado Tobacco Tax Initiative) to develop and implement a training program in patient navigation in collaboration with ACS and other community partners.

Tobacco Control

Tobacco control will likewise continue to be emphasized.  With the passage of the Colorado Tobacco Tax Initiative, CDPHE has mounted an ambitious and large-scale effort to promote both tobacco prevention and cessation in Colorado.  Dr. Arnold Levinson is leading a major effort to evaluate this statewide program, which also has significant potential to evolve into additional R01-type intervention studies and demonstration projects in tobacco control.  Dr. Levinson’s research group is also performing a similar state-wide evaluation of smoking cessation programs in Ohio, reflecting an emerging program of excellence in tobacco control research that extends beyond Colorado.

Reducing Cancer-Related Disparities

The Program will also continue to emphasize programs of research to reduce cancer-related disparities in the Rocky Mountain Region and beyond.  As a case in point, Prevention & Control investigators (as noted above) are collaborating with the Center for African American Health (Black Church Initiative on Cancer, National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities) to pilot test a diet, nutrition and physical activity intervention among African Americans in northeast Denver.  Similarly, the Colorado Front Range Community Network (Dr. Paula Espinoza, PI) has three NCI-funded pilot studies involving young investigators that target Latinos in cancer patient navigation, tobacco control and HPV vaccine promotion.  All of these pilot studies have significant potential for evolving into R01-type intervention studies in cancer prevention and control.