H AN

MAN SERVICE

Institutes

www.cancer.gov 1

Advancing Global Cancer 

Research through 

Coordination, Collaboration, 

and Communication 

National Cancer Institute 

U.S. DEPARTMENT 

OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes 

of Health 
2 National Cancer Institute 
www.cancer.gov 1 

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	

	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 		

	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	

	 	

	 	 	 	 	 		

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 		

	 	 	 	 	

Table of Contents
�

2 Message from the Director 

3 Overview 

4 Partnerships 

5 Cancer Research and Cancer Control Planning 

5	 United States–China Program for Biomedical Research Cooperation 

6	 United States–Latin America Cancer Research Network 

7	 African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer Beginning 

Investigator Grant for Catalytic Research	
 

8	 International Cancer Control Partnership
 

8	 Global Cancer Research Day
 

9	 Tobacco Control
 

9 NCI Tobacco Control Research Branch 

	 	 10 The International Tobacco and Health Research 

and Capacity Building Program 

	 	 11 Meetings and Forums 

12 Monitoring Research Efforts 

12	 International Activities of NCI-Designated Cancer Centers 

12 Information Dissemination and Capacity Building 

12	 Grant-Writing and Peer-Review Workshops 

13	 Scientific Writing Workshop 

14	 Women’s Empowerment Cancer Advocacy Network Advisory Training: 

Breast and Cervical Cancers Education and Advocacy Workshop 

15	 Summer Curriculum in Cancer Prevention 

15	 NCI-American Society of Clinical Oncology International Clinical Trials 

Workshop and Joint Symposium 

16 Future Directions 
2 National Cancer Institute 

Message from the Director
�

Today, more so than any other time in our history, we have an opportunity to work together to 

decrease the global burden of cancer. In 2008 alone, nearly 7.6 million people worldwide died from 

cancer1 and by 2030 the number of cancer deaths may be as high as 13.1 million due to population 

growth and aging.2 

The success achieved in controlling infectious diseases worldwide suggests that using a similar 

approach—coordinated basic research, translational research, clinical trials, implementation 

science, and capacity building—will also be effective against non-communicable diseases, such 

as cancer. With this approach in mind, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) established the Center 

for Global Health (CGH) in 2011 to advance global cancer research; build expertise and leverage 

resources across borders; and reduce cancer deaths worldwide, focusing on low- and middleincome countries. CGH plays an integral role in engaging other NCI divisions, offices, and centers 

as well as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in these efforts. 

The following report highlights some of CGH’s recent activities, as well as those of NIH and 

our international partners,* who are focused on efforts to create sustainable international 

partnerships, support programs that address global gaps in research and scientific training, 

and disseminate information and best practices that drive improvements in cancer research and 

cancer control. 

Edward L. Trimble, M.D., M.P.H. 

Director, NCI Center for Global Health 

*This report includes a sampling of the activities that CGH has undertaken and is not necessarily 

comprehensive of all of the activities and partnerships underway. 

1 Fast Stats: Most frequent cancers. GLOBOCAN 2008. International Agency for Research on Cancer. Accessed September 25, 2013. 

2 Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Prevalence and Disability-adjusted life years: Number of cancer deaths in 2030. GLOBOCAN 2008. International 

Agency for Research on Cancer. Accessed September 25, 2013. 
www.cancer.gov 3 

Overview
�

The vision for CGH is to be a catalyst for 

reducing the global cancer burden through 

coordination, collaboration, and communication 

with a diverse range of international 

stakeholders. 

To advance this vision, CGH has identified four 

priority areas in which to focus its programs 

and activities. 

To allow for close coordination and 

collaboration with partners and foreign 

organizations, CGH leverages three 

offices abroad: 

CGH Priority Areas

Cancer Research and 

Cancer Control Planning 

East Asia: The office in Beijing, China, serves 

as a bridge between NCI resources, experts, 

networks, and cancer researchers and public 

health professionals in cancer prevention and 

control in East Asia. 

South Asia: The office in Delhi, India, focuses 

on building partnerships to strengthen cancer 

research capacity and networks in the region. 

Europe: The Liaison Office in Brussels, 

Belgium, coordinates collaborations with a 

range of European and international partners to 

promote cancer research and control in Europe 

and elsewhere. 

Partnerships 

Monitoring Research Efforts Information Dissemination 

and Capacity Building 
4 National Cancer Institute 

Partnerships
�

Sustainable international partnerships are 

integral to the center’s work. CGH collaborates 

with partners, including foreign governments, 

nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), 

pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, 

and U.S. government agencies to build 

research capacity, assess cancer burden, 

share knowledge, and build on evidence-based 

research to inform global cancer control in lowand middle-income countries. 

In addition, CGH engages with NCI grantees 

across the United States to identify ways to 

support and facilitate their independent global 

cancer research activities and works closely 

with the NIH Fogarty International Center 

(FIC), which seeks to advance the NIH mission 

internationally and to coordinate international 

partnerships and activities. 
www.cancer.gov 5 

Cancer Research and Cancer Control Planning
�

CGH facilitates research efforts to decrease the 

global burden of cancer by collaborating with 

international partners. In addition to facilitating 

research, CGH supports the implementation of 

cancer control plans. As countries streamline 

their health care systems, they recognize 

the value of instituting cancer prevention, 

screening, early diagnosis, and treatment 

programs. 

The programs that follow are some of CGH’s 

promising collaborations in this area that bring 

stakeholders together to create national cancer 

control plans, particularly as they relate 

to tobacco. 

United States–China Program for 

Biomedical Research Cooperation 

This cooperative effort between the United 

States and China was launched to strengthen 

collaboration in basic biomedical research. NIH 

provides funding to support U.S. scientists, and 

the National Natural Science Foundation of 

China (NSFC) matches the funding to support 

Chinese scientists. The program’s working 

group won an NIH Director’s Award in June 

2013 in recognition of its innovative program 

to foster United States–China collaboration in 

biomedical research. 

Since 2011, the program has issued three calls 

for proposals to support research partnerships 

in multiple fields. In the United States, NCI, 

the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious 

Diseases (NIAD), the National Institute of 

Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute 

of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), 

and the NIH Office of AIDS Research (OAR) have 

contributed funding for 108 awards granted 

between 2011 and 2013. Some of the awards 

have supported: 

•	� Collaboration between American and 

Chinese experts to address a common 

scientific question 

•	� Novel technologies developed in the 

United States that are used to study 

unique patient populations in China at 

high risk for certain types of cancer or 

infectious diseases 

•	� Comparative studies to understand 

population differences in the 

development of cancer and/or HIV, and 

other infectious diseases among U.S. 

and Chinese cohorts 

•	� Mechanistic studies of Traditional 

Chinese Medicine products reported to 

have anticancer activity 
6 National Cancer Institute 

United States–Latin America Cancer 

Research Network (US–LA CRN) 

The US–LA CRN was established in 2009 to 

increase cancer research capacity in Latin 

America. NCI formalized bilateral agreements 

with the governments of Argentina, Brazil, 

Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, 

and Uruguay, to facilitate interactions at the 

government, institution, and investigator levels. 

In 2011, the US–LA CRN launched a breast 

cancer study, “Molecular Profiling of Stage II 

and III Breast Cancer in Latin American Women 

Receiving Standard of Care Treatment” (MPBC). 

The investigators are studying the molecular 

profile distribution of invasive stage II and III 

breast cancers among Latin American women 

to improve diagnosis and treatment, correlate 

molecular subtypes with long-term survival 

and response to therapy, and identify indolentdisease subpopulations of cancer patients, 

which may enable future personalized cancer 

management. 

To date, approximately 1,100 women from 

5 countries and 24 clinical sites have been 

enrolled in the study. Patients enrolled in the 

study consent to donate research specimens, 

including blood and tissue samples from tumor 

biopsies and surgical resections, which will be 

used in genetic and/or genomic studies and 

gene expression profiling. 

Some of the unique features of this 

collaborative study include: harmonizing 

procedures; building biobanks to manage 

biospecimens from across the clinical sites; 

establishing a bioinformatics platform 

to capture clinical data and specimen 

characteristics; implementing a comprehensive 

study monitoring plan to ensure specimen 

and data integrity; producing a manual of 

operations in English, Spanish, and Portuguese; 

convening training workshops to standardize 

procedures and advanced technologies that 

lead to best practices; and developing an 

epidemiology questionnaire to correlate with 

clinical annotation. The MPBC is changing 

clinical practice and improving breast cancer 

management in Latin America, and providing 

a better understanding of the disease both in 

Latin America and in the United States. 
www.cancer.gov 7 

African Organisation for Research 

and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) 

Beginning Investigator Grant for 

Catalytic Research (BIG CAT) 

CGH and the NCI Office of HIV and AIDS 

Malignancy (OHAM) partnered with AORTIC to 

cofound BIG CAT, a grant program to advance 

cancer research in Africa and build research 

capacity to address the growing cancer burden 

there. Six grants were awarded in the first cohort 

to early-career investigators advancing research 

on “see and treat” cervical cancer screening 

assessment, esophageal cancer prevalence, 

childhood cancer survival, prostate cancer 

genomics, cervical cancer screening in HIV 

populations, and the role of traditional healers in 

cancer diagnosis and treatment. 

Dr. Chibuike Chigbu, a BIG CAT grant recipient, 

published the results of his research in the 

International Journal of Gynecology and 

Obstetrics3 in a paper entitled, “Motivations 

and Preferences of Rural Nigerian Women 

Undergoing Cervical Cancer Screening via Visual 

Inspection with Acetic Acid.” 

Another six awards were issued as part of the 

second cohort in July 2013. They are focused 

on enabling research in early breast cancer 

detection (Ghana), clinical guidelines for Kaposi 

sarcoma (Nigeria), nasopharyngeal carcinomas 

(Nigeria), cervical cancer treatment (Nigeria), 

breast carcinoma among HIV-positive and HIVnegative women (South Africa), and quality of life 

for cancer patients with advanced-stage cancer 

(South Africa). 

3 Chigbu, C.O., Onyebuchi, A.K., Ajah, L.O., & Onwudiwe, E.N. (2013). Motivations and Preferences of Rural Nigerian Women Undergoing Cervical 

Cancer Screening via Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Vol. 120, Issue 3, 262-265. 
8 National Cancer Institute 

International Cancer Control 

Partnership (ICCP) 

ICCP is a collaboration of governments, United 

Nations agencies, and NGOs tasked with 

ensuring that countries have national cancer 

control plans. 

The partnership’s priorities are to: 

•	� Encourage decision makers to prioritize 

cancer control 

•	� Assist countries in developing cancer 

control plans 

•	� Coordinate efforts to develop and 

disseminate cancer control planning 

materials and tools, technical 

assistance, and training to address 

data gaps, when identified 

The partnership created a “one-stop shop” 

online portal (www.iccp-portal.org) for 

cancer planners that includes: 

•	� A searchable database of published 

national cancer control plans 

•	� A library of tools and materials for 

cancer planners 

•	� Information on worldwide case studies 

and best practices 

CGH is part of the ICCP steering committee, 

which also includes the NCI Division of Cancer 

Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS), 

Union for International Cancer Control 

(UICC), International Atomic Energy Agency 

Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy, 

World Health Organization (WHO), and 

International Agency for Research on Cancer 

(IARC). The partnership, initiated by CGH, took 

form in November 2012 and officially launched 

in South Africa in November 2013. 

Global Cancer Research Day 

Global Cancer Research Day, a satellite 

meeting of the Consortium of Universities 

for Global Health’s (CUGH) 2013 Annual 

Conference, was initiated by CGH to facilitate 

information exchange between global health 

and cancer research professionals from 

CUGH, NCI-designated cancer centers, and 

elsewhere. Interactive discussions drew input 

from the 160 participants on a variety of topics 

to foster network building. Information sharing 

has resulted in identification of potential 

partnerships in certain regions and 

technical areas. 
9 

Notes collected during the meeting are being 

used to: identify themes, new ideas, and next 

steps for the field and for CGH; determine 

how the work and priorities of NCI-designated 

cancer centers align with CGH signature 

themes and priorities; and inform a potential 

publication about global cancer research 

priorities. 

The meeting strengthened NCI’s relationship 

with CUGH. As a result, an NCI representative 

from CGH will serve on the advisory board for 

the CUGH 2014 meeting, ensuring that cancer 

remains on the agenda for this annual meeting. 

Tobacco Control 

CGH contributes to global tobacco control 

efforts through numerous partnerships. 

NCI Tobacco Control Research Branch (TCRB): 

CGH partners with TCRB, within NCI DCCPS, 

to work on international tobacco control issues 

via grant funding, capacity-building workshops, 

education to national ministries of health, 

partnerships with international organizations, 

funding innovations in mobile health (mHealth), 

and providing technical tobacco control 

research expertise. 

CGH and TCRB have partnered with the 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC) to host “Data to Action” tobacco control 

workshops for scientists from low- and 

middle-income countries, including one 

at a recent international tobacco control 

conference in India. 

CGH and TCRB have also provided technical 

expertise and participation in healthy lifestyle 

forums in Russia with a focus on tobacco 

control policy and intervention. 

For more information please visit 

cancercontrol.cancer.gov. 

Research
 

108 Funding awards made 

through the US—China 

Program for Biomedical 

Research Collaboration 

AORTIC BIG CAT built 

capacity in Africa through 

12 research awards 

8 countries collaborating 

in the US—Latin America 

Cancer Research Network 

*Including Puerto Rico 

Puerto Rico 

www.cancer.gov 
10 

The International Tobacco and Health 

Research and Capacity Building Program 

(TOBAC): TOBAC is a collaboration funded 

by FIC and its partnering institutions, NCI, 

the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 

and the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social 

Sciences Research. NCI has been a key partner 

in this initiative since its creation more than 10 

years ago and participated in co-funding a new 

round of grants in 2012. 

Its aim is to support tobacco control research 

and increase research capacity by awarding 

5-year R01 grants for collaborations between 

investigators in high-income countries 

(including the United States) and researchers 

and institutions in low- and middle-income 

countries. Recipients of these grants have 

gathered evidence in epidemiological, 

behavioral, risk-factor, intervention, cessation, 

policy, and economic research areas of 

identified need. Grant recipients represent a 

diverse group of countries, including India, 

China, Hungary, and Kenya, where tobacco 

control efforts have historically been limited 

due to resource constraints. 

TOBAC grantees have contributed to progress 

on multiple articles of the WHO Framework 

Convention on Tobacco Control with evidence 

generation that has informed policy in low- and 

middle-income countries. 

The International Tobacco and Health Research 

and Capacity Building Program (TOBAC) 

Supported 

34 grants 

over the past 

decade 

More than 3,500 individuals trained 

in tobacco control research 

More than 

416 articles 

published 

with TOBAC 

support 

Collaborations established 

with researchers from 

more than 30 countries 

National Cancer Institute 
11 

   

 

Meetings and Forums: CGH participated in or co-hosted several meetings and forums 

related to tobacco control in partnership with foreign governments and NGOs. 

Location Meeting Output 

China China's National Cancer Center 

(NCC)/Cancer Institute and Hospital, Chinese 

Academy of Medical Sciences Annual Meeting 

NCI and the tobacco control office of the China NCC 

developed a proposal for research collaboration based on 

discussions from this workshop. 

Croatia Workshop on Cancer Prevention via Tobacco NCI grantee Dr. David Levy (Georgetown University) is 

Control and Smoking Cessation working with Croatian colleagues to develop a simulation 

model to assess the health impact of tobacco control 

efforts. Work is underway to develop a tobacco control 

research network for Eastern European countries. 

India Smokeless Tobacco and Public Health in India 

Authors’ Meeting 

NCI and CDC will release the Global Smokeless Tobacco 

Report in early 2014, and are currently working with the 

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government 

of India to complete the Smokeless Tobacco and Public 

Health in India report. 

Russia 3rd All-Russian “Health or Tobacco” Forum	� The 3rd All-Russian “Health or Tobacco” Forum approved 

a resolution calling for increased efforts in tobacco 

control research and action, and noted the importance of 

evaluating the new tobacco control law in Russia. 

United States Second Annual Cancer Research 

Funders Meeting 

Dr. Harold Varmus (NCI) and Dr. Harpal Kumar (Cancer 

Research UK) coauthored a commentary4

 based on the 

conclusions of this meeting, which called for the creation 

of an international consortium in tobacco control research. 

Participants representing 15 countries attended. 

Tobacco Control 

Partnered with 

12+ organizations on 

meetings and forums to 

promote tobacco control in: 

4 Varmus, H. & Kumar, H.S. (2013). Addressing the Growing International Challenge of Cancer: A Multinational Perspective. Science 

Translational Medicine, Vol. 5, Issue 175, 175. 

www.cancer.gov 
12 National Cancer Institute 

Monitoring Research Efforts
�

International Activities of NCIDesignated Cancer Centers 

In July 2013, CGH released a report, 

International Activities of NCI-Designated 

Cancer Centers (available online at: http:// 

www.cancer.gov/aboutnci/globalhealth/ 

announcements/cancercentersreport), which 

provides an overview of the international 

activities at 53 of the NCI-designated cancer 

centers. This report is the first of its kind, 

and serves as a resource to strengthen and 

coordinate the work of NCI-designated cancer 

centers and U.S. universities in global cancer 

control and cancer research. 

Information Dissemination and Capacity Building
�

Creating cancer research and control 

infrastructure in low- and middle-income 

countries will enable the development of cancer 

control plans and increased contributions 

to global research. CGH’s capacity-building 

programs, some of which are described in 

the following paragraphs, engage stakeholder 

groups across the health care spectrum to 

enhance skills. 

Regional Grant-Writing and Scientific 

Peer-Review Workshops 

CGH partnered in grant-writing workshops in 

June 2012 and November 2013 to: increase 

the participation of scientists from low- and 

middle-income countries in the research grant 

process; develop strategies for sustainable 

research support and collaborations; and use 

competitive research as a tool to address global 

health issues. 

Sixty researchers and science administrators 

from universities and research centers in 

Central America and the Andean sub-region 

attended the June 2012 workshop, organized 

by NIH, NCI, and the Colombian Ministry 

of Health and Social Protection. Sixty-six 

participants from sub-Saharan Africa attended 

the November 2013 session, organized by NIH, 

NCI, and the South African Medical Research 

Council (SAMRC). 

Several NIH institutes and centers participated 

in the Central America and Andean sub-region 

workshop, including the National Heart, Lung, 

and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Eunice Kennedy 

Shriver National Institute of Child Health and 

Human Development (NICHD), NIAID, NIDA, 

and FIC. Additional participating research 

funding agencies were the CDC, U.S. Agency 

for International Development (USAID), Pan 

American Health Organization (PAHO), UICC, 

and Wellcome Trust. 

The following partners provided funding for 

the sub-Saharan Africa workshop, helped plan 

the curriculum, and/or helped coordinated 

workshop logistics: NCI OHAM, NCI DCCPS, 

NIH OAR, NHLBI, NICHD, NIAID, NIMH, NINDS, 

NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), NIH 

Center for Scientific Review (CSR), FIC, CDC, 

USAID, World Health Organization Regional 

Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO), UICC, IARC, 

American Cancer Society (ACS), and 

Wellcome Trust. 

See the infographic on page 14 for 

accomplishments that resulted from 

the workshops. 
www.cancer.gov 13 

Scientific Writing Workshop 

In November 2012, CGH participated in 

a scientific writing workshop to prepare 

participants to submit articles to peer-reviewed 

journals and enhance their competiveness 

in health research. The workshop, held in 

Tanzania, was supported by NCI OHAM, NICHD, 

WHO-AFRO, Muhimbili University of Health and 

Allied Sciences (Kenya), University of Nairobi 

(Kenya), and Joint Clinical Research Centre 

(Tanzania). 

Fifty-eight participants from 22 countries in 

sub-Saharan Africa attended the workshop, 

and subsequently submitted 10 manuscripts 

to peer-reviewed publications, including the 

Journal of General Internal Medicine, Social 

Medicine, Human Resources for Health, 

Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 

Global Journal of Health Science, and Nature 

Reviews Cancer. 
14 National Cancer Institute 

Women’s Empowerment Cancer 

Advocacy Network (WE CAN) Advisory 

Training: Breast and Cervical Cancers 

Education and Advocacy Workshop 

WE CAN conducts education, awareness, and 

advocacy workshops in central Europe and 

central Asia. In August 2013, CGH cosponsored 

a workshop in Tajikistan to increase awareness 

of breast and cervical cancers among health 

care professionals and the general public and 

to build a community of health care providers 

that could develop a cancer control program. 

One hundred participants attended the 

workshop, the first of its kind in the region. 

Participants heard from speakers on topics 

including: cancer risk factors and riskreduction strategies, methods of early 

detection and diagnosis, evidence-based 

cancer treatment, coordinated survivorship and 

supportive care, and the essential components 

of a cancer control program. 

Workshop evaluation results were positive. 

More than 70 percent of participants stated that 

their knowledge of global epidemiology and 

breast and cervical cancer risks significantly 

increased as a result of the workshop, and 84 

percent stated that the conference was unique 

because it marked the first time oncologists, 

gynecologists, family physicians, community 

organizations, and patient groups in Tajikistan 

had gathered together to consolidate resources. 

An interactive discussion during the workshop 

resulted in a health care resolution that 

the attendees plan to bring to the Tajikistan 

Parliament by 2014. 

Capacity Building 

WE CAN 

NCI 

Summer 

Curriculum 

Regional 

Grant-Writing 

and Scientific 

Peer-Review 

Workshops 

Scientific 

Writing 

Workshop 

2013 

International 

Clinical 

Trials 

Workshop 

Conducted workshops in 4 

countries, Uzbekistan, 

Tajikistan, Uganda, and 

Georgia from 2012 to 2013 

116 international participants 

from 2011 to 2013 

10 manuscripts submitted 

to peer-reviewed journals 

80 participants from 

across Latin America 

Georgia

Uganda

Uzbekistan

Tajikistan

10 participants applied 

successfully for research 

grants from NIH, Wellcome 

Trust, USAID, PAHO, and CDC 

10
www.cancer.gov 15 

Summer Curriculum 

in Cancer Prevention 

Each year, NCI offers courses in molecular 

prevention, advances in cancer prevention, and 

principles and practices of cancer prevention. 

CGH nominates and provides financial support 

to international participants. From 2011 to 

2013, 116 professionals from outside the United 

States participated in the program. CGH is also 

responsible for a social media platform that 

allows international participants to network and 

share information after the curriculum 

has ended. 

In 2013, CGH added lectures to the curriculum 

that were intended for international 

participants, especially those from low- and 

middle-income countries. These lectures 

provided information and tools that can be 

used for cancer prevention and control in 

participants’ home countries. The additional 

lectures—presented by experts from NCI, 

cancer centers, and public and private 

organizations—covered topics such as 

environmental pollution and lung cancer, 

palliative care and pain control, cancer 

drug and clinical trials development in 

low- and middle-income countries, cancer 

registries, communication tools, and the 

NIH grants process. 

Learn more about the program in “Evaluation 

of the Impact of NCI’s Summer Curriculum on 

Cancer Prevention on Participants from Lowand Middle-Income Countries,” published in the 

Journal of Cancer Education.

5 

NCI-American Society of Clinical 

Oncology (ASCO) International Clinical 

Trials Workshop (ICTW) and Joint Symposium 

In 2012, the ICTW was developed by NCI, 

ASCO, Sociedade Brasileira de Oncologia 

Clínica (SBOC), Federación Latinoamericana 

de Sociedades de Cáncerología (FLASCA), and 

the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) to provide 

a curriculum addressing globally accepted 

standards for the conduct of clinical research 

in Latin America. The 2012 workshop was 

convened in São Paulo, Brazil. 

ICTW partners work to advance clinical 

cancer research by providing a comprehensive 

training in the conduct of clinical research. The 

partners’ goals include conducting research to 

encourage the development of evidence-based 

treatment strategies appropriate in emergingeconomy countries and teaching best practices 

in the implementation of cancer clinical trials. 

ICTW also provides a forum to present and 

discuss specific research issues, foster 

meaningful interactions focusing on cancer 

research, and enhance the development of 

senior oncology fellows and junior faculty 

in cancer research and patient care. Past 

workshop topics have included: roles and 

responsibilities of the research team, patient 

accrual strategies, ethical considerations, 

how to promote clinical trials, perspectives of 

sponsors, trial design, local and international 

regulatory issues, and tips on publishing 

research findings. 

In November 2013, NCI and ASCO held the 

fifth ICTW in collaboration with FLASCA, ONS, 

and Grupo Oncológico Cooperativo Chileno 

de Investigación (GOCCHI), in Santiago, Chile. 

Participants at the 2013 workshop addressed 

clinical research standards in Latin America, 

with the goal of training local research 

professionals to conduct cancer research. 

Eighty participants from across Latin America 

attended the workshop. 

5 Williams, M.J., Otero, I.V., & Harford J.B. (2013). Evaluation of the Impact of NCI’s Summer Curriculum on Cancer Prevention on Participants 

from Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Journal of Cancer Education, Vol. 28, Issue 1, 27-32. 
Future Directions
�

CGH will continue to work with partners around 

the world to reduce the burden of cancer for 

all people. 

For example, the center is working to 

increase the availability of low-cost, portable 

technologies for cancer diagnosis, imaging, 

and treatment in low- and middle-income 

countries. As part of this effort, CGH worked 

with other NCI divisions, offices, and centers to 

publish an RFA, Cancer Detection, Diagnosis, 

and Treatment Technologies for Global 

Health (http://grants1.nih.gov/grants) that 

will support teams of engineers, oncologists, 

and global health and business experts using 

the cooperative agreement mechanism to 

adapt existing technologies in areas such as 

minimally-invasive treatment and point-of-care 

imaging and in vitro technologies for diagnosis 

and detection. 

In addition to addressing unmet needs and the 

global cancer burden, technology development 

supported by this initiative has the potential to 

reduce cancer care costs in the United States. 

CGH will work to ensure that this initiative is 

integrated into other NIH-sponsored global 

health technology initiatives. 

CGH also plans to undertake additional 

programs and collaborations focused on 

cancer research and cancer control planning, 

partnership development, research monitoring, 

and information dissemination and capacity 

building. And CGH will pursue training, 

integration, and communication opportunities 

with scientists worldwide to improve cancer 

surveillance. 

Training the next generation of cancer 

researchers and care providers, and tobacco 

control and cessation efforts remain at the 

forefront of our work, as does developing 

palliative care initiatives. And the work 

conducted over the past years provides a solid 

foundation on which to build. 

To learn more about CGH, visit 

cancer.gov/globalhealth 

Follow CGH on Twitter 

@NCIGlobalHealth 

1616 National Cancer Institutee 
www.cancer.gov 17
18 National Cancer Institute 

NIH Publication No. 13-8001
 

Published March 2014