Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG)

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The Duke Cancer Institute (DCI) is a matrix cancer center that serves a broad population across 104 counties in North Carolina, southern Virginia and northern South Carolina. Michael Kastan, MD, PhD continues as the Executive Director of the DCI, with authority and responsibility for all cancer-related activities and patient care at Duke University and in the Duke University Health System. He is supported by a dynamic team of senior leaders, many of whom were newly appointed over this grant period and who are focused on optimizing potential for transdisciplinary discovery, collaboration and impact. Following the most recent strategic planning process, and with the endorsement of the DCI External Scientific Advisory Committee, DCI will progress in its mission to “Discover, Develop, and Deliver the Future of Cancer Care…Now”. A programmatic structure reorganized during the recent grant period resulted in seven multidisciplinary Research Programs, led by Program Leaders who exemplify DCI’s commitment to innovation and effective succession planning. DCI research is supported by 12 Shared Resources. The exceptional institutional commitment to the DCI by Duke Health and Duke University School of Medicine has continued over this grant period, with >$128M of additional investment, including support for recruitment, retention, and protected academic time for DCI faculty. Major accomplishments over this grant period include: 1) Grant Funding - over $145M of external cancer-related grant support (direct costs), ~$89M of which is peer-reviewed, with significant increases in NCI funding, training grants, and multi-investigator grants since the prior review; 2) Publications - DCI members published over 6,300 cancer-focused papers in 2019- 2023, ~30% of which represent collaborative efforts between DCI investigators and with a 20% increase in high- impact publications during the funding period; 3) Clinical Care and Research - ~6,500 new cancer patients are seen each year at the Duke University Hospital, resulting in enrollment during the grant period of over 19,300 patients on clinical trials, including over 10,800 interventional accruals and 3,700 therapeutic accruals; 4) Translation - ~57% of clinical trial enrollments were from investigator-initiated trials, seven start-up companies were created in the recent grant cycle based on DCI research discoveries, and FDA approved a new breast cancer therapeutic arising from a DCI lab; 5) Training and Education - The DCI leads 155 training and fellowship awards, including new NCI training grants in Bioinformatics, in Radiation Oncology and Radiology, and in Surgical Oncology; and 6) COE - An innovative new data analytics tool/team (CREST) enables curation of DCI patient data and examination of risk factors, outcomes and disparities in the DCI catchment area, and helps to guide DCI’s robust community outreach activities. DCI’s future will be guided by its strategic plan to advance discovery and translation, enable increased growth and impact, seek to be an employer of choice, lead in delivery of highest quality care, and advance DCI as a national leader in health care.