NCCN Collaborates with Pfizer on Program Focused on Health Care Quality Improvement and Education

NCCN and Pfizer will elicit proposals for quality improvement and education in rare cancer types; Grants to provide funding for approximately nine proposals focused on patients with renal cell carcinoma or hematologic malignancies

FORT WASHINGTON, PA — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) Oncology Research Program (ORP) is collaborating with Pfizer Independent Grants for Learning & Change (IGLC) to establish a peer-reviewed grant program to elicit proposals focused on health care quality improvement and education projects. As part of this program, the NCCN ORP and Pfizer will jointly issue a Request for Proposals (RFP), focused on the development and adoption of evidence-based initiatives to improve patient care and outcomes in renal cell carcinoma and hematologic malignancies.

The intent of the RFP is to encourage academic and community-based organizations to submit proposals describing concepts and ideas for design and implementation of systems or programs that close clinical practice gaps and improve the care of patients with rare cancer types through the establishment of education and support mechanisms for community oncologists. It is expected that grants will fund approximately nine projects.

“NCCN is pleased to collaborate with Pfizer in this effort,” said Joan S. McClure, MS, Senior Vice President, Clinical Information and Publications, NCCN. “Together, we will identify and fund projects that interweave patient support and information, health care systems issues, and broadening of clinician knowledge base to improve the quality of care for individuals with rare cancers.”

The NCCN ORP and Pfizer will announce an RFP seeking concepts for initiatives focusing on the following areas where there are gaps in care:

• Health care provider education and incorporation of education into practice
• Provider/patient communications and treatment decision-making
• Increasing the use of evidence-based recommendations for management of renal cell carcinoma or hematologic malignancies
• Information related to patient assistance programs and other patient-centered resources

Organizations may submit for one of two categories: renal cell carcinoma or hematologic malignancies, which will include acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL).

For the first time in its history, the NCCN ORP will draw upon the expertise of investigators not only from the 23 NCCN Member Institutions, but from all cancer centers across the United States, including both academic and community settings.

The NCCN ORP, organized to obtain funding to support scientifically meritorious research studies at NCCN Member Institutions, will be the lead organization for review and evaluation of applications. A review committee, led by NCCN and including a medical representative from Pfizer, will make decisions on which proposals will receive funding. Grant funding will be provided by Pfizer IGLC.

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About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), a not-for-profit alliance of 23 of the world’s leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of care provided to patients with cancer. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers. The primary goal of all NCCN initiatives is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can live better lives.

The NCCN Member Institutions are: Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital/The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN; Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL; UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, CO; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN.

Clinicians, visit NCCN.org. Patients and caregivers, visit NCCN.org/patients.

For more information about Pfizer Independent Grants for Learning & Change:  www.pfizer.com/independentgrants

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