Ongoing Global Health Projects

Scientific Advisory Committee for the Provincial Integrated Cancer Survivorship Program
Julia Rowland continues to serve as one of the international members of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Provincial Integrated Cancer Survivorship Program (PICSP) in Alberta, Canada. The PICSP is one component of the Alberta Cancer Action Plan.

Site Visit to the Caribbean Public Health Agency
Brenda Edwards and Damali Martin performed a multi-agency site visit to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in Port-of-Spain in Trinidad and Tobago, from January 21-23, 2015, as part of the development of the Caribbean Cancer Registry Hub under the Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development (International Agency for Research on Cancer).  The goal of the site visit was to define the requirements for the Caribbean Hub, identify resources to support the hub operations and to establish short-term priorities and a preliminary work plan for the hub with deliverables.  Other participating agencies/organizations included the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.  CARPHA will serve as the physical site for the Caribbean Cancer Registry Hub.  John Flannigan from the NCI’s Center for Global Health was also present at the site visit as well as key representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Betsy Kohler from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries was a participant and will continue to provide technical expertise to the Hub.

PRO-CTCAE: Collaboration with International Early Adopters
A key step in promoting widespread implementation of Patient-Reported Outcomes Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) in both international and US trials is the availability of translated and linguistically and culturally adapted instrument versions.  In addition, feasibility trials using varied study designs and in diverse contexts of use will provide important information to enhance adoption of PRO-CTCAE around the world.  A number of collaborations with international partners are ongoing to develop and validate language translations of PRO-CTCAE (currently, efforts are ongoing with partners in Italy, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands).  A manuscript reporting the results of the linguistic validation of the PRO-CTCAE Danish language version is currently in development.  In addition, Sandra Mitchell (DCCPS) and Sarah Tempkin (Division of Cancer Prevention) are working with a group based in Leeds, UK, to examine the content coverage of the PRO-CTCAE item library in capturing surgical toxicities associated with gynecologic and lower gastrointestinal tract surgery as primary treatment for malignancies. These collaborations are structured under the terms of Material Transfer Agreements negotiated with investigators through the NCI Office of Technology Transfer (OTT).  Robert Wagner (NCI OTT) and Kate Castro (DCCPS) work closely with Dr. Mitchell to establish these agreements and to coordinate the work conducted by these early adopters. For more information, please contact Sandra Mitchell.

The International Consortium for Action and Research on Tobacco (ICART)
NCI’s Tobacco Control Research Branch and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) co-hosted an ICART breakfast meeting at the 16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) in Abu Dhabi, UAE, to discuss plans for a coordinated tobacco control research effort. ICART was created at the World Cancer Congress in Melbourne, Australia, by CRUK, NCI, and other cancer research funders and organizations around the world (see January 2015 issue). The event was attended by 70 global tobacco control specialists and representatives of research funders and advocacy organizations. The goals of the meeting were to provide an update on the ICART initiative to international leaders in tobacco control research and to inform future research efforts related to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) implementation. Key points raised in the discussion included the need for documented case studies of successful use of scientific data to drive tobacco control policy, a better understanding of what types of data and evidence motivate policy change, and mechanisms to bring together researchers and advocates.

Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project
Amy Subar is on the International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB) for the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project (CPTP), funded by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. The CPTP is a large pan-Canadian cohort study with biospecimens that will provide a resource of health-linked data for Canadian researchers. The ISAB met the first week in May 2015 in Toronto to discuss study progress regarding recruitment, data harmonization, data access policies and procedures, a cardiovascular disease substudy, future directions, and communication strategies. Dr. Subar is also on the Scientific Review Committee (SRC) for the Canadian Alliance for Healthy Hearts and Minds (CAHHM), a cardiovascular outcomes substudy of the CPTP. The first in-person meeting for this group is in December 2015. This committee provides scientific oversight for the substudy; Dr. Subar is the liaison between the ISAB of CPTP and this SRC.

Partnership of Advancing Nutrition and Dietary Assessment in Canada
Amy Subar is a member of the Partnership of Advancing Nutrition and Dietary Assessment in Canada (PANDA-C), a collaborative group of nutritionists in Canada aimed at supporting the evolution of nutritional and dietary assessment in Canada, with a longer-term goal of ensuring that valid and reliable assessment tools and strategies are available to Canadian researchers. Dr. Subar is the only non-Canadian member. The second in-person meeting was in early May (after the ISAB meeting above).

ASA24 in Canada and Australia
Canadian adaptation of the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour Recall has been developed by the Food Directorate at Health Canada in collaboration with DCCPS, under the guidance of Amy Subar. ASA24-Canada makes use of the ASA24 Respondent and Researcher websites, with modifications made to reflect the Canadian food supply. Foods unique to Canada have been added and those not available in Canada removed. Many changes reflect differences in brand name and fast-food restaurant items between the two countries. Metric measurements have been added as well. Although researchers can begin to collect 24-hour recall data using ASA24-Canada, work is underway to incorporate Canadian nutrient data into the ASA24 analytic modules for computing energy and nutrient intakes from foods and drinks reported on ASA24 recalls. This database work is funded through a grant to Alberta's Tomorrow Project, with in-kind support from the Food Directorate at Health Canada. The project is expected to reach completion later this year.

Work is underway with a consortium of Australian researchers to adapt the ASA24 to the Australian context to account for variations in food consumed, portion sizes, and nutrient composition. Adaptation of the US version will be guided by the most recent Australian Health Survey and linked to food codes in the Australian Food, Supplement and Nutrient Database (AUSNUT) 2011-13. The project, led by Associate Professor Sarah McNaughton (Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research [C-PAN], Deakin University), brings together five Australian institutions with major research programs in nutrition: Deakin University, University of Newcastle, University of Sydney, University of Wollongong, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The project is supported by an Australian Research Council Linkage, Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities Grant (LE140100099). The Australian version is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.

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Global Health Research and Training Initiatives

Indonesian Tobacco Control Program and Workshop
Mark Parascandola of the Tobacco Control Research Branch and Kalina Duncan of NCI’s Center for Global Health participated in the 2nd Indonesian Tobacco Control Research Dissemination Conference and Capacity Building Program in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, April 19-23, 2015, co-sponsored by NCI along with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Muhammadiyah Tobacco Control Center of the Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. They also participated with CDC in the first Field Epidemiology Training Program Tobacco Control Curriculum Workshop for Indonesia and met with representatives from the Indonesian Ministry of Health and USAID.

First International Tobacco Control Research Workshop and EURO/EMRO Regional Tobacco Control Research Network
The Tobacco Control and Research Branch and the Center for Global Heath, in partnership with Hacettepe University, Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Authority (Turkey), Turkish Ministry of Health, and the World Health Organization, organized a 3-day workshop in Ankara, Turkey, on March 24-26, 2015. Turkey has become a regional leader in tobacco control and is the first country in the world to fully implement all six WHO MPOWER measures to protect people from tobacco smoke. The workshop objectives were to support research capacity in tobacco control in Turkey and the neighboring region while building greater collaboration among US, Turkish, and regional tobacco control specialists and government representatives. Countries represented included Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Iran, Jordan, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania, and Serbia. The agenda addressed current research activities in Turkey; research gaps and needs in Turkey and the surrounding region; tobacco research funding mechanisms, including NCI/NIH and other agencies; updates on current international tobacco control research topics; experience from US-funded investigators in capacity building and international research; and a discussion of recommendations for collaborative research activities. A week after the workshop, the EURO/EMRO Regional Tobacco Control Research Network was formed through the WHO web platform EZcollab. The group is currently administered by WHO and NCI and includes 44 members.

WHO Workshop on Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking
Mirjana Djordjevic co-chaired a waterpipe workshop on March 17, 2015, at the 16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) in Abu Dhabi, UAE.  She presented on the topic of Testing Waterpipe Tobacco and Health Consequences of its Use. The goal of the workshop was to examine the trends in the use of waterpipe globally and regionally, as well as reflect upon the contents and emissions of waterpipe tobacco products. Among the objectives of the workshop were to present current guidance on the use of waterpipes; examine the contents and emissions of waterpipe tobacco; health, economic, and environmental consequences of its use; and, discuss regulatory approaches. The workshop also included breakout sessions, which allowed for specific discussions among participants and presentations.

WHO Workshop on Research Priorities to Advance the FCTC Workshop: Research-to-Policy in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)
This  full-day preconference meeting, held March 17, 2015, at the 16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health, was sponsored by NCI, the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT), and Mayo Clinic. NCI and SRNT provided support for a special issue of Nicotine and Tobacco Research in 2013 to identify critical research priorities in support of the the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), with a focus on LMICs. The goal of this workshop was to present findings from the special issue and to explore how to build research capacity and foster communication and collaboration between researchers and public health practitioners in LMICs. Participants also took part in a process to identify a small number of research priorities that are both feasible and responsive to the needs of LMICs.  Mark Parascandola participated as a cosponsor and discussant in the workshop, as well as a panelist in a related symposium, discussing NCI’s priorities in global tobacco control research, the results of a recent research portfolio analysis, and current grants and training programs.

WHO Workshop on mCessation
As part of the ongoing mHealth partnership between WHO and NCI (see past issues), Tobacco Control Research Program (TCRB) fellow Iva Stoyneva presented on The Potential of mCessation during a preconference workshop at WCTOH 2015. Drs. Erik Augustson and Stoyneva developed the presentation, which covered an overview on mCessation globally, as well as examples from specific research collaborations between TCRB and various international partners. The workshop consisted of lectures by prominent researchers in the field, as well as breakout sessions, during which participants were asked to brainstorm on different issues in regards to mCessation implementation and evaluation. There were 40 registered participants representing multiple counties worldwide.

World Cancer Day 2015 Webinar: The Role of National Cancer Control Plans in the Global Fight against Cancer
In recognition of World Cancer Day, February 4th, NCI’s Center for Global Health launched a World Cancer Day 2015 Webinar on the Research to Reality website, The Role of National Cancer Control Plans in the Global Fight against Cancer, which takes a look at the International Cancer Control Partnership (ICCP); its mission to aid in the development, implementation, and evaluation of high-quality national cancer control plans; and the ICCP Portal, as an online one-stop shop for cancer planners and policymakers. The goal of this session is to celebrate the theme of World Cancer Day by highlighting how national cancer control plans are integral to translating global noncommunicable disease (NCD) commitments into national action. See the training and join the discussion.

Site Visit and Assessment of Cancer Registries in Kenya
Brenda Edwards joined Max Parkin of Oxford University (Principal Investigator of the African Cancer Registry Network) for a site visit to three cancer registries in Kenya.  The external assessment visit was part of the action plan developed at the Kenya National Stakeholders forum organized by the Ministry of Health and the NCI held May 20-21, 2014, in Naivasha, Kenya.  The team visit was arranged by the head of the Cancer Registry Unit, Kenya Medical Research Institute, and involved an assessment of cancer registry operations, work flow, completeness and data quality, and statistical reporting.  The site visits took place in Nairobi, Kisumu, and Eldoret.  Their report will provide input to the newly formed National Cancer Institute of Kenya and their key mandate to maintain a National Cancer Registry.

Cancer Control Plan Consultation Visit to Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia
Brenda Edwards was a member of NCI’s Center for Global Health’s (CGH) delegation to Mexico City to provide technical assistance on development of their national cancer control plan announced in the fall of 2014.  In addition to scientific leaders of the Mexico Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia, the 2-day meeting involved presentations and discussions among leaders representing all of the major health institutes and agencies.  The visit and discussions were also pertinent to CGH’s Cancer Control Planning Forum meeting, being held in Cancun, Mexico, September 3-5, 2015, for seven Latin American countries.

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Meeting Reports

Caribbean Cancer Control Leadership Forum
Cynthia Vinson and Damali Martin participated in the Cancer Control Leadership Forum for the Caribbean region from May 11-13, 2015.  The forum was held in Bridgetown, Barbados.  The goal of the forum is to increase the capacity of participating countries to initiate or enhance cancer control planning and implementation.  Participating team countries included Barbados, Bahamas, Belize, and Jamaica, with country representatives from the Dominica, Haiti, Suriname, St. Lucia, Antigua, and St. Maarten.  The forum was a 2 ½-day meeting with large group presentations and interactive discussions, along with country team-facilitated discussions and action planning sessions.  Planning for the forum was led by Brenda Kostelecky and Nareen Abboud of NCI’s Center for Global Health. 

All Ireland Cancer Consortium Conference
Julia Rowland spoke at the All Ireland Cancer Consortium (AICC) Conference in Belfast, Ireland, May 10-13, 2015. This multidisciplinary conference brings together the cancer research and care communities on the island of Ireland with those from the UK, Europe, and US, including keynote speakers from NCI.  Dr. Rowland discussed “The Changing Landscape of Cancer” in a session on Reclaiming Life After Cancer, and provided a keynote address on “Cancer Survivorship Science and Care: Embracing the Future.”

16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health.
WCTOH is the world's largest gathering of tobacco control advocates, policy makers, researchers, and public health and clinical experts. Five representatives from the Tobacco Control Research Branch (TCRB) at NCI attended the 2015 meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on March 17-21, 2015. They participated at various workshops and conference and poster sessions. TCRB staff provided expertise in the fields of tobacco control research and policy as they relate to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), mCessation, waterpipe tobacco smoking, funding strategies for global tobacco control, FCTC research priorities, smokeless tobacco use, reproductive health, and tobacco, as well as presented findings of branch research projects. TCRB staff also met with many US and international grantees and partners during the conference.

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Upcoming Events

International Cancer Screening Network Meeting
The International Cancer Screening Network Meeting will take place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, June 2-4, 2015. This meeting gathers people involved in providing and evaluating organized screening programs around the world. Workshops include discussion of cervical and colorectal cancer screening implementation, test sets of mammography interpretation, the role of primary care in cancer care, microsimulation modeling, and overdiagnosis in cancer screening. Sessions include individualized screening, lessons learned in organized screening programs, optimizing benefits and minimizing harms, screening in low-resource settings, and risk assessment and shared decision making. The emphasis is on discussion among the participants with a wide range of experience, from new investigators to seasoned program managers and researchers. Carrie Klabunde is co-chair for the meeting.  She helped facilitate a special session  for NCI’s Center for Global Health that focuses on screening programs in low-resource countries.

International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) 14th Annual Meeting, Edinburgh
Jill Reedy will be chairing a session at the International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 14th Annual Meeting on “Opportunities and Challenges with Dietary Patterns in Behavioral Nutrition” on June 5, 2015. As part of this symposium, Susan Krebs-Smith will be presenting “Operationalizing US Dietary Guidelines with the Healthy Eating Index and Applications to the Dietary Patterns Methods Project,” along with other collaborators, including Panagiota Mitrou of the World Cancer Research Fund International (“Operationalizing World Cancer Research Fund Cancer Prevention Recommendations Using an Index Score”); Dora Romaguera, Barcelona, Spain (“Operationalizing the Mediterranean Dietary Pattern into a Mediterranean Diet Score: A Review of the Achievements and Challenges”); and Camille Lassale, Imperial College London (“Challenges in the Standardization and Application of Different Diet Quality Index Scores to Different Populations: Examples from the European Prospective Investigation into Nutrition and Cancer”).  Also at the meeting, HCIRB Fellow Chan Thai will present “Attitudes towards food advertising and association with consumption of energy-dense, nutrient poor foods among adolescents in the United States.”

Behavioral Research Presentations in France and the UK
Between June 15 and July 1, 2015, Bill Klein will travel to Paris, France, and London, England, for a series of meetings and presentations.  At University of Paris Descartes, he will present on cancer risk communication to faculty and students, and will meet throughout day with individual faculty and students about cancer research projects.  Next, he will present to  INCa (French National Cancer Institute) on NCI’s Behavioral Research Program (BRP) research priorities and possible collaborations. In addition to that presentation, Dr. Klein will meet throughout the day with individual staff in tobacco control, survivorship, and risk communication. He will also provide consulting on the new national cancer plan in France. The next day he will present to students and faculty at University of Paris Ouest/Nanterre La Defense and  meet with individual staff about cancer control research projects. Moving to London, Dr. Klein will present to faculty and staff of University of College London (UCL) on cancer control research, meet with Jane Wardle to discuss outcomes of the Awareness and Beliefs about Cancer (ABC) survey (conducted collaboratively between NCI and UCL), and meet with faculty and students about research priorities. He will then meet with the scientific staff at Cancer Research in the United Kingdom (CRUK), where he will give a research presentation and attend the CRUK International Advisory Board (IAB) meeting. At the Univeristy of Cambridge, he will present about joint NCI/NHGRI ClinSeq projects.  At the University of Sussex, he will  meet with Peter Harris to discuss the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) and analyses, and discuss CRUK activities.  While there he will also give a research presentation on risk communication and meet with faculty and students about cancer control projects.  Finally, Dr. Klein will meet with Susan Michie and Robert West at University College London to discuss Health Behavior Theory workgroup activities, as well as  present to and meet with individual faculty and students throughout day.

International Shared Decision Making Meeting
Sarah Kobrin is leading a team that had an abstract accepted at the International Shared Decision Making Meeting, which will take place in Sidney, Australia, July 19-22, 2015. The abstract is titled “Awareness of choice across different cancer screening behaviors among older Americans,” and describes Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) data from women and men, combining three cycles from HINTS 4. The research questions being explored include whether awareness of choice differs by (1 type of screening behavior (mammogram, Pap test, colorectal test, PSA); (2 individual characteristics, such as prior information seeking behavior; and (3 characteristics of patient/provider communication.   

NIH Chronic Disease in the Caribbean Meeting
Damali Martin and Mark Parascandola will participate in the trans-NIH meeting “Improving Chronic Disease in the Caribbean through Evidence-based Behavioral and Social Interventions,” to be held July 21-23, 2015 in Bridgetown, Barbados.  The objectives of the meeting are 1) to encourage the generation of research to more rapidly accelerate chronic disease prevention and management and 2) to bridge existing gaps in chronic disease etiology, prevention, screening, treatment, and health disparities in relation to race, socioeconomic status, religious background, and gender inequality.  Participating institutes include the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR), NCI, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Center for Scientific Review, and the Fogarty International Center.  This meeting is being led by Dana Sampson of OBSSR.  John Flannigan of NCI’s Center for Global Health will also participate.

2015 World Congress of Psycho-Oncology

Julia Rowland is on the planning committee for the upcoming joint World Congress of Psycho-Oncology, sponsored by the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) and the International Psycho-Oncology Society‎ (IPOS), which will be held in Washington, DC, July 28-August 1st. The Congress theme is “From National to Global: Implementing the Standard of Psychosocial Care in Oncology.”

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