Cancer Research Partnerships Throughout the United States
NCI builds partnerships in the public and private sectors. We value collaborations with private companies, philanthropic groups, and advocacy organizations on the leading edge of science, technology, and community networking. Examples of these collaborations include grants, contracts, formal partnerships, involvement of advocates, and clinical trials conducted in communities throughout the United States. Through productive collaborations with multiple partners, we can make progress that benefits patients and their families.
NCI’s Cancer Centers Program
Currently, 66 NCI-designated cancer centers around the country conduct transdisciplinary cancer research to reduce cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality. NCI supports NCI-designated cancers centers through the Cancer Center Support Grant.
- Map of NCI-Designated Cancer Centers (view centers by state, region, or center name)
The NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP)
The NCI-sponsored NCCCP now includes 30 hospitals in 22 states that form a community-based cancer center network to support cancer research, and increase access to and quality of care at community hospitals.
Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) and Minority-Based CCOPs
The CCOPs and the MB-CCOPs are NCI-sponsored networks for conducting cancer prevention and treatment clinical trials by community physicians. This network connects academic centers (research bases where trials are designed and conducted) with community physicians who accrue patients to those trials. There are 50 CCOPs and 13 MB-CCOPs currently funded in 35 states across the country, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
National Outreach Network
The National Cancer Institute's National Outreach Network (NON) connects outreach and community education efforts with cancer health disparities research and training programs. NON was developed to provide outreach and education to underrepresented and at-risk communities. It also provides information on clinical research and specimen collections. Each grantee site has a Community Health Educator (CHE) who works as a liaison among the researchers, partners, and community to address needs and disseminate culturally tailored cancer information.
NCI Community Networks Program (CNP)
The CNP is designed to reach communities and populations that experience a disproportionate share of the cancer burden: African-Americans, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Hawaiian Natives and other Pacific Islanders, Asians, Hispanics/Latinos, and underserved rural populations. CNP grant awards from NCI ensure that communities and populations that experience a disproportionate share of the cancer burden have the resources to address cancer disparities through community-based participation in education, research, and training.
NCI Clinical Trials Cooperative Groups
The Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program, sponsored by NCI, is designed to promote and support clinical trials (research studies) of new cancer treatments, cancer prevention and early detection, and survivorship. Cooperative groups include researchers, cancer centers, and community physicians throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.
NCI Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPOREs)
SPOREs are specialized centers sponsored by an NCI center grant that promotes interdisciplinary research with the goal of moving basic research findings from the laboratory to clinical settings, involving both cancer patients and populations at risk of cancer.
