Background
The growing number of cancer survivors, coupled with their unique needs during and after cancer treatment, necessitates a comprehensive strategy for survivorship care. Primary care providers (PCPs) manage many components of survivorship care, including screening for subsequent malignancies, managing chronic conditions, and promoting healthy behaviors. Therefore, it is critical to support PCPs by identifying effective strategies to provide quality survivorship care.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Office of Cancer Survivorship (OCS) and the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) have supported several initiatives to advance research on primary care and cancer survivorship. Described below are some activities, funding opportunities, and resources in this important area of research.
Funding Opportunity
RFA-CA-23-025: Addressing the Needs of Cancer Survivors in Primary Care (U01 Clinical Trial Required)
The purpose of this RFA was to support studies that aim to develop and test primary care practice-level and health system-level interventions and strategies that promote high-quality care for cancer survivors during and/or after the treatment period. Interventions were required to target primary care practices or health systems that deliver primary care. This research will inform the critically needed evidence base for delivery of high-quality survivorship care provided by PCPs.
This RFA had a receipt date of July 2023. More information is available here.
Four awards were funded through this funding opportunity.
| Grant Number | Project Title | Institution | Principal Investigators | NCI Scientific Officer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U01CA290663 | Enhancing Primary Care Capacity for Cancer Survivorship Care Delivery in Community Health Clinics | University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston | Bijal Balasubramanian, Simon Craddock Lee | Michelle Doose |
| U01CA290664 | KanSurvive 2.0 | University of Kansas Medical Center | Allen Greiner, Jennifer Klemp | Michelle Mollica |
| U01CA290653 | ACCESS-PC: Advancing Care Coordination to Enhance Shared Care for Complex Survivors in Primary Care | Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences | Denalee O’Malley, Jeanne Ferrante, Shawna Hudson | Michelle Mollica |
| U01CA290611 | Implementation of Comprehensive Survivorship Care Intervention Across FQHC-Based Primary Care Practices | University of Miami | Frank Penedo, Joycelyn Lawrence | Michelle Doose |
Enhancing Capacity for Primary Care Research in Cancer Survivorship: A Workshop for Action
In February 2024, DCCPS sponsored Enhancing Capacity for Primary Care Research in Cancer Survivorship: A Workshop for Action to discuss actionable opportunities for impact in this field. This meeting, which included over 300 attendees, focused on three areas: system-level interventions, challenges in identifying survivors within primary care practices, and mentoring and team building for research success.
Workshop-related Materials
- Agenda with video links
- Executive Summary
- Meeting Report, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute
- Examples of Scientific Communities of Practice
- Fireside Chat (video) - Cancer and Aging Research Group (CARG)
- Fireside Chat (video) - Cancer Survivorship Provider Network (CSPN)
- Speaker Bios
- Relevant Publications
New Community of Research Practice
INSPiRE: Interdisciplinary Network for Survivorship and Primary Care Research and Education
In September of 2024, NCI helped launch INSPiRE, a community of research practice focused on primary care and cancer survivorship research. The overarching goal of INSPiRE is to foster collaboration to advance research on the integration of primary care and cancer survivorship that spans different research areas, disciplines, and organizations. INSPiRE has three working groups: Care Delivery Research, Building Capacity and Partnerships, and Training and Career Development. INSPiRE will have a virtual meeting on March 3, 2-3:30p ET that is open to those interested in advancing survivorship research in primary care. Register here.
Other Events
Dr. Simon Craddock Lee – Optimizing Care Delivery for Cancer Survivors: Engaged, Pragmatic, Multi-team and Multi-level (October 2023 OCS Director’s Series webinar)
Dr. Ray Chan – Innovations in Survivorship Models of Care (February 2023 OCS Director’s Series webinar)
Dr. Shawna Hudson – Cancer Survivorship Healthcare Delivery: Challenges and Opportunities Integrating Primary Care (September 2021 OCS Director’s Series webinar)