Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program

Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem NC

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

CANCER PREVENTION AND CONTROL (CPC) PROGRAM: PROJECT SUMMARY The goal of the Cancer Prevention and Control (CPC) Program is to foster scientific discovery across the cancer continuum that translates into clinical, community, and policy strategies to improve cancer outcomes. Although organized under several names during the past 50 years, cancer prevention and control research has been a foundational program of the Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center (WFBCCC) since its first Cancer Center Support Grant Award in the 1970s. Currently, the CPC Program is the largest WFBCCC Program, with 45 scientific members representing 16 departments. The CPC Program is led by Eric Donny, PhD, and John Salsman, PhD who guide the scientific direction of the Program and the integration of CPC research with other WFBCCC Programs. Members prioritize research relevant to the WFBCCC catchment area and Center- wide strategic priorities, most notably: Tobacco, Health Disparities, and Survivorship. The CPC Program conducts rigorous and translatable research across three Specific Aims: (1) Improve health behaviors associated with reduced risk of cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality; (2) Enhance quality of life and reduce symptom burden for survivors through the development of optimal supportive care interventions; and (3) Advance cancer care delivery by discovering strategies to improve the effectiveness and implementation of best and promising practices across the continuum of care. These scientific foci guide CPC programmatic strategies, which include hypothesis-driven research tied to catchment area needs; integration with key institutional resources; collaboration with other WFBCCC Programs, regional National Cancer Institute-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, and community partners; and organizational strategies that promote the scientific vision and aims of the CPC Program. Since the last renewal, CPC Program investigators have made major contributions to the science of tobacco control; implementation of smoking cessation interventions; determinants of emerging risk factors for cancer, including alcohol use, obesity, and physical activity; disparities in survivorship care; digital health interventions; patient-reported outcomes and quality of life; adolescent and young adult survivorship; implementation science; and low-dose CT screening. The CPC Program is the primary scientific home for the Wake Forest NCI Community Oncology Research Program Research Base (WF-NCORP- RB), the ECOG-ACRIN NCORP Research Base, a new NCI P50 Implementation Science Center on Cancer Control, and a multi-institutional NIDA U54 on tobacco regulatory science. In 2020, CPC Program members received a total of $13M in cancer-focused, peer-reviewed funding (direct costs), of which $8M (62%) was from NCI and $5M (38%) from other NIH sources. During the current project period, members authored a total of 284 cancer- relevant publications; 87 (32%) were intra-programmatic, 37 (14%) were inter-programmatic, and 24 (9%) were in high-impact journals. In 2020, the CPC Program conducted more than 60 clinical and/or community- based research studies, and even during the COVID-19 pandemic, over 13,000 participants were recruited.