Partnerships

One of the NCI Center for Global Health's (CGH) core principles and objectives is to create mutually beneficial partnerships to improve global cancer research. NCI, together with NIH’s Fogarty International Center ¹ (FIC), engaged in exploratory discussions with many government agencies in Latin American countries. Many of the government ministries in those countries agreed to participate in the United States–Latin America Cancer Research Network ² (US-LA CRN).

In addition to the government agencies that participate in US-LA CRN ², NCI and FIC engaged in discussions with several non-government organizations as well as domestic and international research advocacy organizations.  These discussions helped forge effective partnerships to promote and enhance cancer research in Latin America. 

Other NCI partners include:

American Society of Hematology and Agrupación Mexicana para el Estudio de la Hematología

In 2009, NCI partnered with the American Society of Hematology (ASH) to host an international workshop focused on clinical trial design. Currently, both NCI and ASH are partnering with ASH and the Agrupación Mexicana para el Estudio de la Hematología (AMEH) in the US-Mexico Cytogenetics Laboratory Standardization Project. The first activity of this project will be a US-Mexico Cytogenetics Laboratory Standardization Workshop on April 8, 2011 in Mexico City.  

American Society of Clinical Oncology and Sociedad Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Oncología Médica

In 2009, NCI partnered with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and Sociedad Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Oncología Médica (SLACOM) to host an international clinical trials workshop.  The goal was to deliver first-class practices in clinical cancer research while remaining grounded in and relevant to the needs and interests of the local communities and researchers in Latin America.

In 2011, NCI partnered with ASCO and Federación de Sociedades Latinoamericanas de Cáncerología (FLASCA) to host another international clinical trials workshop.  The goals include encouraging the development of evidence-based treatment strategies appropriate in nations with emerging economies and teaching best practices in the implementation of cancer clinical trials.

Baylor College of Medicine and Clinica las Condes (Chile)

NCI cosponsored the Santiago Breast Cancer Symposium in April 2010 with Baylor College of Medicine and Clinica las Condes (Chile) to share innovative experiences with invited health professionals, academics, students, and others interested in breast cancer.  The objective of this meeting was to update best practices for beast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring. The meeting also organized study groups, brought together experts, and created opportunities for discussion and exchange of knowledge among physicians and other health professionals. 

University of New Mexico, University of Arizona, Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, and Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social

NCI, along with University of New Mexico, University of Arizona, Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, and Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, jointly organized a workshop in January 2010 focused on cervical cancer prevention to address a critical health issue along the U.S.-Mexican border.  Women in communities along the border often lack adequate access to cervical cancer screening and follow up of abnormal results.  The workshop brought together family practitioners, pathologists, scientists, and public health officials from both sides of the border to raise awareness of the issue and to develop possible solutions.  The meeting highlighted opportunities for collaboration through demonstration or pilot projects to improve screening, education, and treatment in low-resource communities.  Other participants included the Arizona State Health Department, Texas State Health Department, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the joint U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)  – Mexico Border Commission.

Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública and Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social

NCI, along with Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, and Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, organized a workshop in January 2010 focused on cervical cancer prevention to address a critical health issue along the U.S.-Mexican border.  Women in communities along the border often lack adequate access to cervical cancer screening and follow-up of abnormal results.  The workshop brought together family practitioners, pathologists, scientists, and public health officials from both countries to raise awareness of the issue and to develop possible solutions.  The meeting highlighted opportunities for collaboration through demonstration or pilot projects to improve screening, education, and treatment in low-resource communities.  Other participants included the Arizona State Health Department, Texas State Health Department, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services U.S.–Mexico Border Commission.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure®

In early 2010, Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and NCI formalized their partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support the United States–Latin America Cancer Research Network (US-LA CRN). Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is now the world’s largest breast cancer organization and the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer. 

University of Southern California and the University of Santiago de Compostela 

The University of Southern California and the University of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain) formed a partnership with NCI – through the NCI's Cancer Research in Latin America efforts and the NCI Division of Cancer Control and Population Science (DCCPS) – to present state-of-the-science talks in efforts to discuss potential projects for the Latin American Cancer Epidemiology Consortium. The goal of the talks, held in September 2009, was to summarize the current knowledge and ongoing research on this topic and – with the expertise represented at this meeting – to identify the most important research questions that should be addressed from the epidemiological perspective.  During the 2nd Annual Meeting for Latin American Cancer Epidemiology Consortium in October 2010, the previous discussions with NCI lead to the launching of several projects with collaborators in Chile and Argentina.