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Global Cancer Research Programs

Global Cancer Research Programs

The National Cancer Act of 1971 authorized the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to support collaborative international research and training. In exercising this authority, NCI collaborates to advance cancer research, build expertise, and leverage resources across nations to address the global burden of cancer and reduce cancer deaths.  Enabling the open exchange of scientific knowledge and ideas is critical in these efforts.  NCI advances the delivery of cancer information and care to people around the world through its international cancer control and research programs. The programs and activities highlighted below are just a sample of the work being done by NCI scientists, our grantees, and our international partners.

Global Cancer Burden – Quick Facts:

  • Cancer is the leading cause of death in developed countries and the second leading cause of death in developing countries.
  • Deaths from cancer worldwide are projected to continue rising, with an estimated 12 million deaths in 2030.
  • The most common cancers worldwide are lung, breast, large intestine (colon and rectum), stomach, and prostate.
  • The cancer that causes the most deaths overall is lung cancer, followed by stomach and liver cancer.
  • Some cancers are more common in developed countries: prostate, breast, and colon. Liver, stomach, and cervical cancer are more common in developing countries.

 

Cancer Topics:

Basic and Clinical Research

  • AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC)
    AMC is an NCI-supported clinical trials group founded in 1995 to support innovative trials for HIV-associated malignancies. It is composed of eight Domestic Core Sites, four International Core Sites, and a number of affiliated sites that involve patients in AMC trials. This effort is supported by NCI’s Office of HIV and AIDS Malignancy.
  • Chernobyl Tissue Bank (CTB)
    CTB collects samples of tumors and normal tissues from people who were exposed to radioactive iodine in childhood. This project, which started in October 1998, is jointly funded by the European Commission, NCI, and the Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation of Japan (SMHF). It is coordinated from Imperial College, London, and works with Institutes in Russia and the Ukraine to support local scientists and clinicians to manage and run a tissue bank containing specimens from patients who have developed thyroid tumors following exposure to radiation from the Chernobyl accident.  NCI’s Division of Cancer Biology helps to fund and coordinate this program.
  • Cohort Consortium
    The Cohort Consortium is an international collaboration of intramural and extramural investigators responsible for 41 independently funded cohorts containing over 4 million individuals across the globe.  NCI formed this partnership to address the need for large-scale collaborations to pool the vast quantity of data and biospecimens needed to conduct a wide range of cancer studies. NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology & Genetics is a partner in this initiative.
  • The Breast and Prostate Cancer Consortium (BPCC)
    Initiated by the Cohort Consortium, BPCC investigators are searching for genetic determinants of breast and prostate cancer.  Genetic variants in 50 genes related to steroid hormone and insulin-like growth factor activity are being assessed across an international series of cohorts to determine genetic predictors in these genes related to disease risk. 
  • Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program (EGRP)
    EGRP is supporting a growing number of national and international research consortia focusing on intradisciplinary and translational research on common and rare cancers. Cohort, case-control, and familial studies are included.  This program is supported by NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences.

Bioinformatics

Building Capacity and Infrastructure

  • Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) Program
    The NCI, in cooperation with other parts of the National Institutes of Health, provides awards to establish and maintain several CFARs that conduct research on the prevention, detection, and treatment of HIV infection, AIDS, and AIDS-related malignancies.  African CFAR collaborations include institutions in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The CFAR Program is supported by NCI’s Office of HIV and AIDS Malignancy.
  • Center for Global Health
    The Center for Global Health supports NCI’s goals of advancing global cancer research, building expertise, and leveraging resources across nations to address the burden of cancer and reduce cancer deaths worldwide. Enabling the open exchange of scientific knowledge and ideas is critical in these efforts.
  • Ireland-Northern Ireland-NCI Cancer Consortium (AICC)
    AICC brings together the governments of the United States and both parts of Ireland to reduce the incidence and mortality of cancer among the Irish people, who have one of the highest rates of cancer in the Western world.  AICC is administered by NCI’s Center for Global Health.
  • MECC Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC)
    MECC was established 14 years ago as a unique partnership between the United States and the Ministries of Health of Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, and the Palestinian Authority. MECC is administered by NCI’s Center for Global Health.
  • Cancer Research in China
    The Center for Global Health promotes, supports, and informs the development of cooperative research projects between U.S. and Chinese scientists, research teams, and institutions to accelerate progress against cancer through programs focused on Cancer Research in China (International Cancer Research). Center for Global Health.
  • International Cancer Research
    The Center for Global Health coordinates the NCI’s worldwide activities in a number of arenas focused on International Cancer Research, including establishing liaisons with foreign and international agencies; coordinating cancer research activities under formal agreements between the United States and other countries; planning and implementing international scientist exchange programs; sponsoring international workshops; and disseminating information to cancer communities worldwide.
  • Cancer Research in Latin America
    Through an innovative partnership between NCI and the Fogarty International Center (FIC), the Center of Global Health manages programs focused on Cancer Research in Latin America to support and enhance cancer research and care in Latin America.
  • United States-Latin America Cancer Research Network
    The network currently includes Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay and is responsible for developing a comprehensive understanding of the burden of cancer and the status of cancer research and cancer care infrastructures in Latin American countries, as well as building collaborative relationships to support high-quality research and clinical studies. This is a program of the Center for Global Health.
  • Strengthening Capacity for Research for HIV-Associated Malignancies in Africa
    This initiative, supported by NCI’s Office of HIV and AIDS Malignancy and co-funded by the Fogarty International Center, provides funding for innovative training programs designed to train African research teams in preparation for collaboration on future research projects.

Cancer Control and Prevention

Cancer Detection and Diagnosis

Cancer Treatment

Clinical Trials

Quality of Care

  • International Palliative Care Resource Center (IPCRC)
    IPCRC makes palliative care resources accessible for health care professionals, builds palliative care capacity worldwide, and provides a dynamic and constantly expanding website. NCI’s Center for Global Health provided funding for this collaborative effort.

Training

  • Ireland-Northern Ireland-NCI Cancer Consortium Fellowships and Training
    The Consortium recognizes the importance of building a workforce with the skills and knowledge necessary to practice cancer control and thus sponsors a number of fellowships and training opportunities for scientists, physicians, and other public health professionals from Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the United States. Interested individuals are encouraged to apply for fellowships or short-term training programs.
  • NCI’s Summer Curriculum in Cancer Prevention
    One- or four-week courses take place each summer in Maryland for U.S. and international health professionals. The one-week course focuses on molecular prevention, and the four-week course focuses on the principles and practice of cancer prevention and control, during which attendees from many countries present an international perspective on cancer prevention during International Day.  This program is coordinated through NCI’s Center for Cancer Training.
  • NIH Visiting Program
    Each year, approximately 1,000 visiting scientists from more than 74 countries contribute to intramural research projects at NCI's Center for Cancer Research through the NIH Visiting Program.
  • Short-term Scientist Exchange Program (STSEP)
    NCI’s Center for Global Health Short-Term Scientist Exchange Program (STSEP) promotes collaborative research between established U.S. and foreign scientists from low, middle, and upper-middle income countries by supporting, in part, exchange visits of cancer researchers from foreign laboratories.
  • United States-Japan Cooperative Cancer Research Program (USJCCRP)
    Formal researcher exchange programs exist through USJCCRP and are administered by NCI’s Center for Global Health.  The program supports scientific workshops and meetings to help advance cancer research and clinical care, creates networks among researchers and institutions, and promotes active participation in cancer research by women and young researchers.

 

Programs by Region

Africa

  • NIH Partners with PEPFAR to Strengthen Medical Education in Africa
    The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced a new initiative to strengthen medical education in Sub-Saharan Africa, in collaboration with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR. The program, called the Medical Education Partnership Initiative, is a joint effort of the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense, and 19 components of NIH.
  • Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) Program
    The NCI, in cooperation with other parts of the National Institutes of Health, provides awards to establish and maintain several CFARs that conduct research on the prevention, detection, and treatment of HIV infection, AIDS, and AIDS-related malignancies.  African CFAR collaborations include institutions in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The CFAR Program is supported by NCI’s Office of HIV and AIDS Malignancy.
  • Ghana Prostate Cancer Study
    This study is assessing the burden of prostate cancer among West African men using a population-based prostate cancer screening survey and a clinical survey of diagnosed prostate tumors. Ghanaian men and African American men, who have one of the world’s highest risks of prostate cancer, share genetic ancestry but have different lifestyle factors.
  • Strengthening Capacity for Research for HIV-Associated Malignancies in Africa
    This initiative, supported by NCI’s Office of HIV and AIDS Malignancy and co-funded by the Fogarty International Center, provides funding for innovative training programs designed to train African research teams in preparation for collaboration on future research projects.

Asia

Australia

  • BioGrid Australia/caBIG® Collaboration
    BioGrid Australia is actively collaborating with NCI’s cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid® (caBIG®) development team to expand their grid capabilities.

Canada

  • Childhood Cancer Survivor Study
    This cohort of more than 14,000 five-year survivors of childhood cancer diagnosed at 25 U.S. and Canadian hospitals between 1970 and 1986 is being followed to assess the long-term risks of radiation and chemotherapy for second cancers of the breast, brain, thyroid gland, bone and soft tissue, skin, and salivary glands. 

Europe

  • Ireland-Northern Ireland-NCI Cancer Consortium (AICC)
    AICC brings together the governments of the United States and both parts of Ireland to reduce the incidence and mortality of cancer among the Irish people, who have one of the highest rates of cancer in the Western world.  AICC is administered by NCI’s Center for Global Health.

The Netherlands

Latin America

  • Cancer Research in Latin America
    Through an innovative partnership between NCI and the Fogarty International Center (FIC), the Center of Global Health manages programs focused on Cancer Research in Latin America to support and enhance cancer research and care in Latin America.
  • United States-Latin America Cancer Research Network
    The network currently includes Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay and is responsible for developing a comprehensive understanding of the burden of cancer and the status of cancer research and cancer care infrastructures in Latin American countries, as well as building collaborative relationships to support high-quality research and clinical studies. This is a program of the Center for Global Health.

Middle East

  • MECC Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC)
    MECC was established 14 years ago as a unique partnership between the United States and the Ministries of Health of Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, and the Palestinian Authority. MECC is administered by NCI’s Center for Global Health.