Written by Blake Berdan
Three Virginia health systems are participating in the Cancer Screening Research Network (CSRN), a groundbreaking study launched this week by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. It serves as one of eight groups in the country. New clinical trials network aims to build national infrastructure to research new cancer screening and prevention technologies in support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Cancer Moonshot Plan to reduce cancer-related disease and death. To construct.
The CSRN will intensify efforts to evaluate the benefits and harms of promising new technologies for cancer screening and identify effective strategies to incorporate these technologies into standard of care.
As part of this national network, the Virginia CSRN Accrual, Enrollment, and Screening Site (ACCESS) Hub is a partnership between the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and the C. Kenneth and Diane Wright Center for Clinical and Translational Research at VCU Health. It will be a partnership. Inova Shah Cancer Institute and its Saville Cancer Screening and Prevention Center. Sentara Health, Sentara Health Research Center, and academic partner Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS).
This statewide partnership leverages the health system’s geographic footprint across Virginia and established track record of building community trust and recruiting for fair and inclusive clinical trials to address the commonwealth’s diverse population. This will involve clinical trial participants representing the following:
“We at Massey and VCU, along with our esteemed colleagues at Sentara, Innova, and EVMS, are working hard to ensure that historically marginalized and underserved communities, both rural and urban, are supported through this CSRN initiative. We are committed to ensuring equal access to cutting-edge research opportunities,” said Robert A. Wynne, MD, Lippman Chair and Director, Massey University Oncology. “We are honored to lend our expertise to close the testing and care gap to advance this important effort on a national scale.”
Statewide collaboration to improve cancer detection and treatment
The Virginia partnership represents a multidisciplinary team of experts with backgrounds in primary care, oncology, preventive services, and community engagement. This partnership will benefit from the resources and patient populations of three large health systems, two medical schools, three cancer centers, the Wright Clinical Translational Research Center, and a statewide primary care practice-based research network. It will involve you.
“Evidence collected through this network has the potential to inform national guidelines and screening practices for generations to come, ultimately improving health outcomes for all Americans, especially our most disadvantaged communities.” ,” said Alex Crist, MD, MPH, professor of family medicine and demography. Professor of Health Management at VCU School of Medicine and member of Massey University’s Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program.
Co-principal investigators of the Virginia CSRN ACCESS hub include Krist, who is also the former chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force; Dr. Patrick Nanasinkam, Professor and Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at VCU and Linda Grandis Blatt Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at Massey University. and Rebecca Kaltman, MD, executive director of the Inova Saville Cancer Screening and Prevention Center. Her MPA, Anita Harrison, executive director of research strategy at Massey, led the development of the grant proposal.
“New tools are desperately needed to detect more types of cancer at earlier, more treatable stages,” Kaltman said. “We are excited to join NCI’s efforts to bring new technology possibilities for cancer screening to the people of Virginia through this important collaboration.”
How a Virginia research network conducts clinical trials for cancer screening tests
The evaluation of multiple cancer detection tests (simple blood tests that screen for multiple types of cancer at the same time) is part of the federal government’s ambitious goal of cutting cancer deaths in half by 2047. That is the main purpose of Cancer Moonshot.
In 2024, CSRN plans to launch a four-year pilot study called the Vanguard Study on Multiple Cancer Detection, which will enroll up to 24,000 people between the ages of 45 and 70, with approximately 225,000 This will inform the planning of a larger randomized controlled trial. Evaluate the benefits and harms of these multiple cancer detection tests. The Virginia CSRN ACCESS Hub will be responsible for enrolling a portion of the participants in the Vanguard study. This study will investigate the effectiveness of two MCDs compared to standard cancer screening treatments and assess whether her MCDs can be appropriately incorporated into routine practice in primary care settings. .
“Clinically useful blood-based tests for some cancers have eluded researchers and clinicians for many years,” Nanasinkam said. “We now have an opportunity to make significant advances in cancer detection for everyone.”
Early detection is paramount to improving cancer treatment and cure, said Dr. John Sayles, principal investigator of the upcoming Vanguard study and a colorectal surgeon at Sentara.
“Being part of the Virginia CSRN ACCESS hub will allow us to conduct important research in all eligible patients, especially those who have been historically underrepresented,” said Sayles. “Sentara Health and Sentara Block Cancer Center are excited to play a major role in this cutting-edge research aimed at accelerating medical progress in an equitable and inclusive manner.”
