Highlighted Efforts

An increasing number of states have banned or regulated per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in response to DCCPS-funded epidemiological studies showing a link between those substances in the bloodstream and a higher incidence of several cancers.

The Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE®) helps doctors select the best treatments for patients.

DCCPS-funded surveys, research networks, and registries led to better screening uptake and monitoring among high-risk and economically disadvantaged groups. Efforts resulted in an estimated 20% reduction in breast cancer mortality and 40% reduction in colorectal cancer mortality.

The Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) played a significant role in advancing the US Preventive Services Task Force’s screening recommendations for colorectal, breast, lung, and cervical cancers.

Declines in smoking from 1975-2000 led to the prevention of nearly 800,000 deaths. DCCPS-funded research built an evidence base for tobacco reduction strategies that prevented 8 million premature deaths from 1964-2012 and led to a reduction in lung cancer mortality rates, which are projected to decrease by approximately 50%.

The Automated Self-Administered 24-hour (ASA24) Dietary Assessment Tool is a research resource supported by DCCPS and NIH that enables high-quality dietary data collection. As of early 2025, more than 1,000 peer-reviewed scientific publications have used ASA24 in epidemiologic, intervention, behavioral, or clinical studies on cancer and other health outcomes.

A large-scale effort of the Physical Activity Collaboration of NCI’s Cohort Consortium found that physical activity was associated with lower risk of 13 types of cancer, confirming and extending the evidence for the benefit of physical activity on cancer risk reduction and supporting its role as a key component of population-wide cancer prevention and control efforts.

DCCPS-funded epidemiological research helped women who are predisposed to breast and ovarian cancer benefit from risk-reduction strategies and showed that individuals with other inherited syndromes benefit from earlier and more frequent surveillance.

DCCPS-supported research using SEER data – the only comprehensive source of population-based cancer information in the United States – underscored the importance of long-term surveillance investments and revealed that short-term mortality from childhood cancer has improved, but life expectancy for childhood cancer survivors was still lower than for their peers.