The USA National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a clinical trials network to evaluate emerging technologies for cancer screening. The Cancer Screening Research Network (CSRN) will support the Biden-Harris administration’s Cancer Moonshot, and eight groups have received funding.
“There are many cancers we still cannot reliably detect until it is so late that they become extremely difficult to treat,” said W Kimryn Rathmell MD PhD, Director of NCI. “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.”
Studies are needed to evaluate the benefits and harms of promising new technologies for cancer screening and to determine how best to incorporate these technologies into the standard of care. Funding is being provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of NIH.
In 2024, the network will launch a pilot study, known as the Vanguard Study on Multi-Cancer Detection, to address the feasibility of using multi-cancer detection (MCD) tests in future randomised controlled trials. MCDs are blood tests that can screen for several types of cancers. The study will enrol up to 24,000 people to inform the design of a much larger randomised controlled trial. This larger trial will evaluate whether the benefits of using MCD tests to screen for cancer outweigh the harms, and whether they can detect cancer early in a way that reduces deaths.
“Our goal is to systematically evaluate cancer screening technologies to understand how best to use them to ultimately save lives. Data collected through these clinical trials can be used to develop evidence-based guidelines for cancer screening,” said Lori M Minasian MD, Deputy Director of the Division of Cancer Prevention at NCI.
In its studies, the network aims to reach diverse populations that are receiving routine care in a variety of health care settings. Study sites are geographically diverse and include underserved populations. Study investigators will come from a variety of disciplines that are actively engaged in cancer screening.
Initial funding will provide resources for study coordination, communication activities, statistics and data management, and accrual and enrolment of participants into clinical trials and studies. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle will serve as the network’s coordinating and communications centre and the statistics and data management centre. The seven additional funded sites will lead efforts to enrol participants in their geographic and coverage areas.
NIH, the USA's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases.