) This Planning and Development (P20) Grant application, submitted in response to RFA CA-030504, seeks funding to develop an Aging and Cancer Research Program at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Moffitt Cancer Center is ideally suited to develop such a program based on: 1) its location in a geographic region with a large population of older adults; 2) the relatively large number of older adults receiving treatment at the center; 3) the existence for many years of a Senior Adult Oncology Clinical Program at the center that has provided initial opportunities to develop aging and cancer research collaborations; 4) the presence of numerous cancer center members interested in expanding their focus to include issues related to aging; and 5) the presence of numerous aging researchers at the University of South Florida (where all cancer center members hold their faculty appointments) interested in expanding their focus to include issues related to cancer. Funds provided by this award would be used to develop research related to five aging and cancer themes identified in a recent NINNCI Workshop Report: Treatment Efficacy and Tolerance, Effects of Comorbidity and Cancer, Psychosocial Issues and Medical Effects, Palliative Care, End-of-Life Care, and Pain Relief, and the Biology of Aging and Cancer. Toward this end, funds would be used to support promising pilot research in each of these areas as well as a variety of planning and educational activities designed to foster additional collaborations among aging and cancer researchers. Funds also would be used to hire new faculty in basic science and clinical research whose backgrounds and expertise bridge areas identified as promising for collaboration. In addition, funds would be used to establish a new shared resource in Health Outcomes Measurement that is likely to be used by numerous funded investigators conducting aging and cancer research, and to enhance existing shared resources providing biostatistical support and support for the conduct of clinical trials. Letters of commitment included in the application document the strong support of the senior leadership of the Moffitt Cancer Center for this effort. Consistent with the goals of the RFA, receipt of this award is expected to lead to the development of an Aging and Cancer Research Program that will merit incorporation into future Cancer Center Support Grant applications by the Moffitt Cancer Center.
