Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology

Programs: Professional education - we help oncologists worldwide stay up to date on the latest developments and discoveries in cancer knowledge. Ccf supports the efforts of asco to provide the latest information and provide education to physicians, researchers and caregivers. This work provides a direct impact and benefit to every cancer patient in the u. S. And around the world by developing and communicating the most advanced treatment protocols developed by asco physicians. Funds from ccf are used to support asco's comprehensive scientific and educational programs that provide the latest data to cancer doctors and other healthcare professionals worldwide through both live meetings and print and electronic education offerings. Highlights of the professional educational and scientific meetings supported by ccf and presented to the public in 2014 include the following: 1) the asco annual meeting featured more than 400 educational and scientific sessions. Over 5,400 abstracts were presented or published. The asco annual meeting is considered the premier educational and scientific event in the oncology community and attracts more than 34,000 attendees worldwide. The meeting is designed to advance the education of physicians and other professionals involved in multidisciplinary clinical cancer care, to support the development of clinical cancer researchers and to facilitate the delivery of high-quality health care to patients with cancer. Sessions are designed to provide meeting attendees optimum learning experiences through disease-specific topics and oncology-related subjects. 2) quality care symposium is a two-day national symposium focusing on innovative strategies to advance the areas of quality measurement, quality improvement, patient outcomes, comparative effectiveness research and the elimination of disparities in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer in the united states. The overarching goal is to improve the health of all individuals with cancer, those at increased risk of developing cancer, and cancer survivors. 3) gastrointestinal cancers (gi) symposium - the annual gi symposium is the premiere multidisciplinary gi cancer scientific and educational meeting offering the most up-to-date strategies in prevention, screening, and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. The symposium is jointly developed by the american gastroenterological association institute, asco, the american society for radiation oncology, and the society of surgical oncology. 4) genitourinary cancers (gu) symposium - the annual gu symposium is the preeminent genitourinary cancer scientific and educational meeting providing the latest strategies in screening, diagnosis, treatment, management and controversies in the field of genitourinary cancers. The symposium is jointly developed by asco, the american society for radiation oncology, and the society of urologic oncology. 5) breast cancer (bcs) symposium - the annual breast cancer symposium features presentations on the latest multidisciplinary research from selected theme-based translational and clinical abstracts, as well as related educational sessions. This symposium offers an opportunity for clinically relevant, in-depth discussions of how and when to translate new findings into patient care ultimately to improve outcomes for patients requiring breast cancer therapy. The meeting is jointly developed by asco, the american society of breast disease, the american society of breast surgeons, the american society for radiation oncology, the national consortium of breast centers, inc. , the society of surgical oncology. 6) best of asco held in boston, ma, chicago, il, and seattle, wa - the best of asco meeting program condenses highlights from the asco annual meeting into a two day educational meeting, which provides a unique, intimate forum for the presentation and discussion of the practice-changing science and educational highlights that were presented. A panel of asco experts selects abstracts that highlight the important scientific information to create the best of asco meeting program. This program provides access to the most cutting-edge, practice-changing research presented at the meeting in a responsible, peer-reviewed manner. 7) asco/aacr methods workshop - this intensive annual workshop, in partnership with the american association for cancer research, brings together clinical fellows and junior faculty clinical researchers in all cancer types. The workshop teaches attendees how to plan and conduct an effective clinical trial. The overall goal of the workshop is to increase the reliability and effectiveness of clinical trials ultimately leading to better patient care. 8) palliative care in oncology symposium - the palliative care in oncology symposium is an educational opportunity for oncology professionals that provides opportunities for attendees to learn how to integrate palliative care skills into cancer care across the trajectory of the illness. The symposium is cosponsored by four leading medical specialty societies: the american academy of hospice and palliative medicine (aahpm), the american society of clinical oncology (asco), the american society for radiation oncology (astro) and the multinational association of supportive care in cancer (mascc). 9) highlights of print and electronic professional education materials supported by ccf and available to the public in 2014 include the following: 10) proceedings - the proceedings publications for the asco annual meeting and select cosponsored thematic symposia contain all the abstracts selected for presentation at the live educational meeting and allows those not able to attend access to the ground-breaking abstracts that were presented. 11) educational books -the asco annual meeting educational book is the comprehensive resource for education session materials from the asco annual meeting, allowing the entire oncology community to benefit from discussions of critical research updates in a point-of-care context. Manuscripts discuss the current standards of care and existing technologies but also look toward the future, discussing research improvements and trends and treatments still on the horizon. 12) abstracts on asco. Org - abstracts on asco. Org provide the results of the latest clinical cancer research to healthcare professionals involved in multidisciplinary clinical cancer care. The abstracts on asco. Org comprise asco's comprehensive online database of oncology-related research abstracts from asco scientific and educational meetings dating back to 1995. 13) virtual meetings on asco. Org - the asco virtual meeting interface uses the latest technology to allow users to view and review sessions from the asco annual meeting and co-sponsored thematic symposia. Viewers can stay abreast of the latest oncology developments, view meeting sessions that they were unable to attend, or review presentations at the time and place most convenient for them - at home, on the road, or in the office. Virtual meeting features more than 25,000 oral presentations, abstracts, and posters from meetings dating back to 1999 - the most comprehensive collection of oncology-related multimedia (slides and audio) lectures available on the web. Each session included on virtual meeting is based on the original learning objectives. Session presentations are available in multiple formats and include lists of related abstracts, presentations, asco educational book articles, and pubmed citations. Presentations are captured using one or a combination of the following: video, audio, powerpoint presentations, and/or text abstracts and are posted online as they become available. Sessions captured at the live meetings are posted within 24 hours of a session's completion. 14) online portals - asco websites play an important role in educating asco members as well as the broader cancer care community. Asco's disease-specific "cancer portals" are organized thematically for easy access and usage, are accessible from the asco. Org homepage, a direct url, other areas of the website and from search query results. The portals are resources for physicians to discover the latest findings in various areas of cancer research through scientific abstracts, videos, linked articles, and other materials. They provide immediate, streamlined access to a vast amount of educational content on asco. Org and online navigation and advanced search capabilities. Disease specific portals are available in: breast cancer, prostate cancer, genitourinary cancers, gastrointestinal cancer, head and neck cancers, hemtologic malignancies, gynecologic cancers, lung cancer and sarcoma, . The information generated from asco's family of websites to the cancer portals is transferred seamlessly to users in an easy-to-browse format. 15) asco university - asco university is an online platform that provides education for oncology professionals. Course content is developed and presented by recognized experts. Asco universit

research - in this age of scientific promise, federal funds for cancer research are declining. Fulfilling the promise of today's advances requires funding for research projects and support for investigators who wish to pursue a career in clinical and translational cancer research. Without continued, well-targeted research, there would be no meaningful progress. Ccf prides itself on its standards for scientific rigor, implementing a multistage peer review process with the participation of globally recognized scientists, oncologists, and biostatisticians in the selection of meritorious research for funding. Since 1984, ccf and asco have funded more than $90 million in cancer research grants to over a thousand recipients. In 2014, ccf awarded 76 research grants. Ccf funds the entire spectrum of research activities related to cancer prevention, screening, treatment, and outcomes research in all cancer types, and supports progress by funding cancer researchers at all stages of their careers, enabling oncology's best and brightest to pursue promising research. Each year, ccf funds and awards multiple research grants designed to help attract and retain the best scientific minds in cancer research and to support their efforts. Highlights of 2014 research activities and accomplishments include: advanced clinical research award (acra) - $450,000 provided one (1) three-year award intended to fund an investigator committed to clinical cancer research and who is conducting original research in breast cancer. Career development award (cda) - $2,000,000 provided ten (10) three-year awards intended to support clinical research of clinical investigators who have received their initial faculty appointments and are establishing independent clinical cancer research programs. Young investigator award (yia) - $2,850,000 provided fifty-seven (57) one-year awards designed to encourage and promote high-quality research in clinical oncology by providing funds to promising investigators during the transition from a fellowship program to a faculty appointment. Long-term international fellowship (ltif) - $345,000 provided three (3)one-year fellowships to early-career oncologists from low to middle income countries for the support and resources needed to advance their training by deepening their relationships with american, canadian, or european colleagues and their u. S. ,canadian, or eu institutions. International innovation grant - $80,000 provided four (4) one-year awards in support of novel and innovative projects that can have a significant impact on cancer control in low- and middle-income countries (lmcs). Gianni bonadonna breast cancer research fellowship - $50,000 provided one (1) one-year fellowship that enables an early-career investigator to undertake a breast cancer project under the mentorship of the gianni bonadonna breast award recipient. The james b. Nachman junior faculty award in pediatric oncology was established in memory of james b. Nachman, md, an internationally renowned pediatric cancer expert and pediatrics professor. He chaired several children's oncology group national study committees and was an authority in the medical management of childhood cancers, especially leukemia and lymphoma. $3,000 provided for one junior faculty member with the highest-scoring abstract in pediatric oncology to present the abstract at the asco annual meeting. Clinical trials participation award (ctpa)- $16,000 provided (8) awards to honor a program that publicly honors high-quality, community-based oncology practices and institutions that actively participate in clinical trials research. This program is designed to encourage oncology practices that currently participate in clinical trials to increase their accrual rates in order to support cancer research and advances. Merit awards- $178,900 provided for the bradley stuart beller merit award and 165 merit awards which promote clinical research by awarding young scientists whose research is addressed in high quality abstracts submitted to asco meetings with an opportunity to present their research and interact with other clinical cancer investigators at asco scientific meetings and disease-specific symposia. Oncology trainee travel awards- $43,920 provided for 36 travel awards to allow for the support of continuing education and professional development of trainee oncologists by providing them individual travel grants to defray travel expenses for attending the asco annual meeting. Ccf also raised funds for a number of awards provided by asco in order to recognize and encourage individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to asco, the practice of clinical oncology, and cancer patients. Highlights of awards supported by the foundation in 2014 included: gianni bonadonna breast cancer award and lecture- this award recognized an active clinical or translational researcher with a distinguished record of accomplishments in advancing the field of breast cancer as well as exceptional mentoring abilities. The award winner gave a lecture during the breast cancer symposium. Bj kennedy award and lecture- this award recognized a geriatric oncologist who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and achievement in the field of geriatric oncology. The award winner gave a lecture during the asco annual meeting. American cancer society award and lecture - this award recognized an oncologist that has made a significant contribution to cancer prevention and control research or practice. The award is jointly supported by the american cancer society. The award winner gave a lecture during the asco annual meeting.

quality and access to care - remarkable advances in cancer medicine are occurring more and more frequently, yet the full promise of such progress cannot be realized until high-quality cancer care is available to everyone. Ccf is keenly aware of the potentially fatal divide between those with access to the fruits of research and timely care and those without. We seek to confront these disparities and improve the outlook for every person touched by cancer by supporting programs that increase access to care in all communities, including those underserved. The quality and access to care programs and initiatives supported by ccf in 2014 include the following: cancerlinq; cancerlinq is a big data project that aims to rapidly improve the overall quality of cancer care cancerlinq is based on a cutting-edge health it platform that will powerfully connect and analyze real-world cancer care data from almost any electronic record source. Cancerlinq will be able to : provide real-time quality feedback to providers; uncover patterns that can improve care; feed personalized insights to doctors. State/regional affiliate program - the asco state/regional affiliate program is designed to address issues in the practice of oncology on the local level. The program includes facilitation of interaction among asco and 49 state or regional oncology societies that have access to the society's expertise and guidance on ways to strengthen their organizations, enhance their educational activities, and provide advocacy support, education and resources on practice-related issues, and a website development tool. Diversity in oncology initiative - the ccf grants and awards program provides funding for different types of award opportunities for oncology fellows, clinical practices, and international researchers. One of the programs offered through ccf is the diversity in oncology initiative. The diversity in oncology initiative was structured to facilitate the recruitment and retention of individuals from populations underrepresented in medicine to cancer careers, with particular attention to the development of clinical practitioners and investigators. In 2014, $81,500 provided two programs for individuals interested or currently practicing in the oncology field: medical student rotation - the medical student rotation (msr), provides 8- to 10-week clinical or clinical research oncology rotations for u. S. Medical students from populations underrepresented in medicine who are interested in pursuing oncology as a career. In 2014, $68,000 provided 8 msrs. Resident travel award - the resident travel award provides financial support for residents from underrepresented populations to attend asco's annual meeting. The intention of this award is to attract residents from underrepresented populations to a possible career in one of the oncology specialties. This travel award will allow the recipients to travel to the asco annual meeting, where they will have an opportunity to meet oncologists and to understand the career possibilities in the area. In 2014, $13,500 funded 9 rtas. Although a number of programs exist to recruit individuals underrepresented in medicine, few of these programs focus specifically on recruitment to clinical oncology. Ultimately, it is hoped that increasing diversity in the clinical oncology profession will lead to increased and improved cancer care for underserved populations as well as increased research on health disparities.