The National Institutes of Health has awarded funding to eight medical groups that will become part of its inaugural Cancer Screening Research Network, an effort to advance existing knowledge about emerging cancers, early detection and treatment, it announced Feb. 21.
The effort is part of the Biden administration's Cancer Moonshot initiative, which aims to reduce cancer deaths in the U.S. by half within the next 25 years.
In 2024, experts from the newly formed Cancer Screening Research Network will begin exploring multi-cancer detection tests and will launch clinical trials related to this effort.
"There are many cancers we still cannot reliably detect until it is so late that they become extremely difficult to treat," W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, director of NCI stated in the release. "Emerging technologies such as multi-cancer detection tests could transform cancer screening and help to extend the lives of many more people. We need to be sure that these technologies work and understand how to use them so they benefit everyone."
The enrollment of diverse and historically underserved populations for the clinical trials and future research will also be a priority for the members of this new network.
The eight groups that are now part of the new research network includes:
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle
- Henry Ford Health and Michigan State University Health Sciences in Detroit
- Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, and Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine
- OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences in Oklahoma City
- University of Colorado Cancer Center in Aurora
- University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill
- Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Inova, and Sentara Health
- Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis