The Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program (CPC) of the YCC was initiated in the mid-1980s, with the selection of Yale as one of the first two NIH-funded Cancer Prevention Research Units (CPRUs) in the United States (US). In 1993, Dr. Susan Mayne was appointed as Program Leader, and in 1995, she was appointed as Associate Director for Population Science of the Center. Dr. Mayne oversees all aspects of prevention and control research for the YCC. CPC has a long and rich history of using the State of Connecticut as a population laboratory for cancer prevention and control research. The program is enhanced by its link to the Connecticut Tumor Registry, the oldest population-based tumor registry in the US and an NCI-funded SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program) site. In addition, researchers have access to the YCC Rapid Case Ascertainment Shared Resource (RCA), which identifies patients with newly diagnosed cancer throughout the State on a rapid basis, facilitating research projects. This Shared Resource is unique, and is complemented by the Molecular Epidemiology Shared Resource, allowing for population-based molecular epidemiology research. The program can thematically be grouped into two primary themes. The first theme is lifestyle factors and genetics in the etiology of cancer, with the objective of elucidating the roles of (a) nutrition, physical activity, and obesity in cancer; (b) environmental factors and cancer; and (c) molecular/genetic factors in cancer in human populations. The program also evaluates the causes of and approaches for mitigation of (d) racial disparities and cancer; and (e) develops new statistical methodologies to inform researchers in the areas above. The second major theme is behavioral interventions in cancer prevention/control. Research emphasizes the use of behavioral interventions to promote effective cancer prevention and control interventions, ranging from primary prevention (tobacco control, diet change) through early detection message framing, to survivorship interventions and finally to end-of-life care. The program has a total of 29 program members representing 4 schools and 9 departments. Program members have a total of $6.7 million in research grant funding (annual direct costs), of which $6.1 million direct costs is peer-reviewed. Of this, $1.8 million is NCI-funded. Program members contributed a total of 360 publications since the last renewal, of which 33% percentage are intra-programmatic and 8.3% percentage are interprogrammatic. Program members collaborate with other relevant groups at Yale including the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center and the YCC Cancer Information Service, and the Program is the host for several training programs including an NCI-funded pre-doctoral training program in cancer epidemiology and genetics.
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