The Cancer Control Program is one of two Population Science Research Programs of the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC).The transdisciplinary program composed of 27 members who focus on the identification of the genetic, behavioral and health care determinants of cancer susceptibility and the development and implementation of strategies to lower risk and improve outcomes. The Program is directly concerned with improving cancer outcomes in the ACC's catchment area and working inter-Programmatically with all Research Programs to apply advances in science to the health of populations. The members of the Program seek to improve population health across the cancer spectrum through advancing science in the areas of: 1) Risk Assessment; 2) Survivorship; 3) Communication and Health Behavior; and 4) Health Outcomes. The Program has produced a substantial body of high impact work in the current project period. In the area of Risk Assessment, members have led multiple groundbreaking studies which established the basis for clinical management of women with BRCA1/2 mutations, identified risk loci associated with susceptibility to testicular germ cell tumor and established genetic and genomic predictors of response to therapy in melanoma. In the area of Survivorship, members have set clinical paradigms for cancer survivors through establishing care plans and demonstrating that exercise programs improve outcomes. In the area of Communication and Health Behavior, members are national leaders in health messaging and behavioral economics, with innovative studies on use of incentives for improving health behaviors. In the area of Health Outcomes, members lead critically important multidisciplinary studies on how research advances are translated into clinical practice and address health care disparities within the ACC catchment area. The Program recruited 13 members in the project period, with particularly important recruits in the area of ethical, legal and social implications of genetic testing (Dr. Joffe), health communication and brain activity (Dr. Falk) and population-based cancer prevention (Dr. Doubeni). The Program works closely with the Tobacco Environmental and Carcinogenesis Program to create a robust population science initiative with widespread inter- and intra-Programmatic collaborative efforts. Members of the Program come from nine departments within the Perelman School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, the Wharton School of Business, and the Annenberg School of Communication. Exemplifying the robust collaborative nature of the research environment, there have been 544 cancer-related publications over the project period. Of these, 13% are intra-Programmatic, 37% are inter-Programmatic and 78% are multi- institutional. Further demonstrating the substantive productivity of these collaborations, members have $11.5M in annual cancer-related research grant funding (annual direct costs), of which $9.9M is peer-reviewed and $5.3M is NCI-funded.
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