The ACS Cancer Research Program (CRP) is taking a more active role to integrate with other ACS Cancer Programs and advance the mission of the ACS.
The re-envisioned CRP will proactively drive activities to improve the care of the person with cancer, in particular the surgical cancer patient. This will be accomplished through data modeling and analysis, validation, and implementation of standards and research.
The work will be performed through three newly CRP established committees: Cancer Data Modeling, Standards Investigation and Validation, and Implementation Research.
Cancer Modeling Committee
The Cancer Data Modeling Committee, led by Elizabeth Habermann, PhD, MPH, will bring together a team of modeling experts to develop new approaches to investigate the incorporation of diverse types of data (e.g., social determinants of health and evolving biologic marker data) and use big data to drive the development of new clinical tools.
The overarching goals of the committee include developing new clinical tools to aid patients with cancer and physicians treating cancer and constructing annual reports that identify trends in cancer care and outcomes across multiple disease sites.
Standards Investigation and Validation Committee
The Standards Investigation and Validation Committee, led by Ingrid M. Lizarraga, MBBS, FACS, will validate the impact of standards and accreditation, conduct research to help establish new standards, and demonstrate the value of adherence to standards. Many of the Cancer Programs (Commission on Cancer [CoC], National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, National Accreditation Program for Rectal Centers, and Cancer Surgery Standards Program) develop evidence-based accreditation standards with the goal of improving patient care.
A Survivorship Services Survey (SSS) is underway with the goal of evaluating how CoC-accredited hospitals and cancer centers are recommending survivorship functions and services and to determine how CoC standards are being implemented. The overall objective of the survey—led by David R. Freyer, DO, MS—is to characterize current survivorship services nationally and identify potential growth areas to support high quality of life for cancer survivors. Based on the results of the survey, a research grant will be developed to study the impact of survivorship programs on patient experience.
Implementation Research Committee
The Implementation Research Committee, led by Lesly Dossett, MD, MPH, FACS, will study the implementation of quality measures, including operative standards developed by the ACS, to understand barriers and facilitators to implementation, develop and test implementation strategies, and evaluate implementation outcomes such as costs and sustainability.
The CRP and its committees are open to research ideas and opportunities for projects, as well as people interested in participating in projects. For more information, contact ACS CRP at cancerresearchprogram@facs.org.
