The NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP) is a national network of community cancer centers to expand cancer research and deliver the latest, most advanced cancer care to a greater number of Americans in the communities in which they live. The NCCCP extends the reach of NCI research into more U.S. states, cities, and towns, including rural areas and inner cities.
Georgia has two sites at St. Joseph's/Candler's Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion (LCRP) in Savannah and Northside Hospital in Atlanta. (click on the facility name for details)
NCCCP is designed to create new research opportunities across the cancer continuum from screening and treatment to follow-up care, with an emphasis on minority and underserved populations. Expanding the NCCCP network will provide access to more patients in community cancer centers to support these research efforts. In addition, the program is studying ways for patients to have access to the latest, evidence-based care close to where they live. For a variety of reasons, many cancer patients cannot commute to major academic medical centers for treatment. In fact, 85 percent of patients are diagnosed, and receive at least their first course of treatment, at a community hospital.
NCCCP centers are addressing ways to reduce healthcare disparities, improve access to clinical trials, improve overall quality of care, promote an infrastructure to collect high-quality biospecimens such as blood and tissue samples for research, and link with national computer networks that support research. The centers also work to improve survivorship, palliative care services, and patient advocacy. The National Cancer Institute is using $80 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to expand cancer research at the 16 sites of the NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP) and 14 new sites.
Links
NCCCP Fact Sheet http://www.georgiacancer.org/pdfs/NCI-Fact-sheet.pdf
NCCCP Website http://ncccp.cancer.gov/
Participating sites http://ncccp.cancer.gov/About/Sites.htm
