Ongoing Global Health Projects

Prototyping a Rapid-cycle Embedded Research Strategy for Global Implementation Science Around Cervical Cancer Screening and Control in Lima, Peru

The NCI Center for Global Health (CGH) is leading the development of a funding concept to support the adoption and scale-up of sustainable cervical cancer screening and control programs, through a network of implementation labs in low- and middle-income countries, regional hubs of implementation and systems researchers, and an NCI coordinating center.

Margarita Correa-Mendez and Aubrey Villalobos, of the DCCPS Implementation Science team, participated as scientific observers alongside social systems design engineers in a prototype workshop on November 7-11, 2022, in Lima, Peru. Through facilitated dialogue and real-time participatory process mapping, in partnership with the Peruvian Ministry of Health (MOH), the workshop allowed local health care providers and the MOH team to engage in self-reflection, visualize the cervical cancer screening and management system, and identify challenges and potential solutions. The “real-world” knowledge gained through this experience is currently being used to refine the embedded implementation research concept and to propose implementation science-related research opportunities and strategies for the rapid dissemination of best practices to improve the implementation of cervical cancer screening and control interventions globally.

Global Health Research and Training Initiatives

Fulbright Scholar Paul Han to Carry out Project in Norway

Paul Han was selected for a prestigious Fulbright US Scholar Program Award for 2022-2023. The Fulbright Program is the US government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Through the program, participants – chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential – are given the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to challenges facing our communities and our world. Past Fulbright participants have included Nobel Prize laureates, Pulitzer Prize recipients, and several heads of state or government. For his project, Dr. Han will be working in Norway on understanding and improving the management of uncertainty in medical practice and education.

Noteworthy Reports

Researchers Analyze Survivorship Care Strategies in National Cancer Control Plans in Africa

In 2017, the World Health Organization urged member states to develop and implement national cancer control plans (NCCPs) and to anticipate and promote cancer survivor follow-up care, which is a critical but often overlooked component of NCCPs. Michelle Mollica, along with researchers in Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria and co-authors from the NCI Center for Global Health and other organizations, examined the inclusion of cancer survivorship-related strategies and objectives in NCCPs of African countries, publishing this study in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship in January 2023: An analysis of survivorship care strategies in national cancer control plans in Africa. The authors concluded that survivorship objectives and strategies should extend beyond palliative care to encompass all aspects of survivorship and should include indicators to measure progress.

Report Summarizes Perceptions Around Cancer in France

The Institut National du Cancer (INCa) recently released their Cancer Barometer report, based on a nationally representative survey conducted every 5 years of cancer behaviors, sponsored by INCa and the French Public Health Agency “Santé Publique France” (both under the French Ministry of Health). Carolyn Reyes-Guzman co-authored the e-cigarettes chapter in the report and also provided input on tobacco and alcohol use measures, based on survey items from NCI’s Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) and FDA/NIDA’s Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study. The summary report in English is available for download here.

Dr. Reyes-Guzman is also currently collaborating with INCa in support of a short series of manuscripts based on data from the Baromètre. Manuscript topics will include cigarette and e-cigarettes behaviors and cancer harm perceptions.

Meeting Reports

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IACR) Monograph Meeting

Curt DellaValle attended IARC Monograph Meeting 133 from February 28 to March 7, 2023, as a representative for NCI. The meeting reviewed the evidence for human carcinogenicity of the chemicals anthracene, 2-bromopropane, butyl methacrylate, and dimethyl hydrogen phosphite.

Virtual Talks Focus on Alcohol and Cancer Risk in Australia

The DCCPS International Interest Group hosted Robin Room and Heng (Jason) Jiang from the Department of Public Health and the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, School of Psychology and Public Health at La Trobe University in Australia on March 20, 2023. The two speakers presented on the growing importance of alcohol and cancer in their talks entitled “Alcohol use as a risk factor for cancer and much else: a challenge for research and policy.” Video recording of the talk is available here.

Webinar Highlights Survivorship Models of Care in Australia

The Office of Cancer Survivorship Director’s Series webinar on February 28, 2023, featured a presentation by Raymond Chan, director of the Caring Futures Institute at Flinders University in Australia. Dr. Chan highlighted the need to innovate survivorship models of care, focusing on survivorship models of care in Australia, as well as research on implementation, patient-centered care, cancer-related fatigue, telehealth, financial toxicity, cancer navigation, policy research, and novel methodologies.

Presentation at World Cancer Congress Focuses on Tobacco Control

Stephanie Land presented at the World Cancer Congress, held October 18-20, 2022, in Geneva, Switzerland. Her talk focused on the Smoking Cessation at Lung Examination (SCALE) Collaboration, Cancer Center Cessation Initiative (C3I), and tobacco use after cancer diagnosis. Dr. Land is engaged in ongoing discussions about cessation in the cancer treatment setting globally. She is also on the tobacco control committee of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

Upcoming Events

Next Interest Group Meeting to Discuss Global Cancer Disparities

James Alaro, Patti Gravitt, and Mark Parascandola from CGH will join the DCCPS International Interest Group to discuss activities and collaborations related to global cancer disparities on May 19, 2023, from 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. All are welcome to join. For more information on this meeting or to join the DCCPS International Interest Group, contact Tram Lam or Carolyn Reyes-Guzman.