The International Collaboration for Research methods Development in Oncology (CReDO) workshops: shaping the future of global oncology research

Affiliations.

  • 1 Department of Anaesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 2 Division of Paediatric Oncology, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
  • 3 Department of Medical Oncology, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
  • 4 Research Administration Council, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
  • 5 Department of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
  • 6 Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India.
  • 7 Departments of Oncology and Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
  • 8 International Drug Development Institute, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
  • 9 Tata Trusts, Mumbai, India.
  • 10 Departments of Medicine and Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
  • 11 Center for Global Health, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA.
  • 12 Cancer Research UK, London, UK.
  • 13 Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
  • 14 Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at University College London, London, UK.
  • 15 National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research, Bengaluru, India.
  • 16 University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Versailles, France; Department of Biostatistics, Institut Curie, Saint-Cloud, France; Department of Statistics for Precision Medicine, INSERM U900, Paris, France.
  • 17 School of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Sciences, King's College London, London, UK.
  • 18 American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, VA, USA.
  • 19 US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, USA; US Embassy, New Delhi, India.
  • 20 NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
  • 21 Institute of Cancer Policy, King's College London, London, UK.
  • 22 World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
  • 23 Division of Medical Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
  • 24 Office of the Director, National Cancer Institute, NIH, US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, USA.
  • 25 Departments of Administration and Surgical Oncology, Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
  • PMID: 34216541
  • PMCID: PMC8328959
  • DOI: 10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00077-2

Low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) have a disproportionately high burden of cancer and cancer mortality. The unique barriers to optimum cancer care in these regions necessitate context-specific research. The conduct of research in LMICs has several challenges, not least of which is a paucity of formal training in research methods. Building capacity by training early career researchers is essential to improve research output and cancer outcomes in LMICs. The International Collaboration for Research methods Development in Oncology (CReDO) workshop is an initiative by the Tata Memorial Centre and the National Cancer Grid of India to address gaps in research training and increase capacity in oncology research. Since 2015, there have been five CReDO workshops, which have trained more than 250 oncologists from India and other countries in clinical research methods and protocol development. Participants from all oncology and allied fields were represented at these workshops. Protocols developed included clinical trials, comparative effectiveness studies, health services research, and observational studies, and many of these protocols were particularly relevant to cancer management in LMICs. A follow-up of these participants in 2020 elicited an 88% response rate and showed that 42% of participants had made progress with their CReDO protocols, and 73% had initiated other research protocols and published papers. In this Policy Review, we describe the challenges to research in LMICs, as well as the evolution, structure, and impact of CReDO and other similar workshops on global oncology research.

Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Capacity Building
  • Developing Countries
  • Health Services Research*
  • Medical Oncology / education*

Grants and funding

  • 001/WHO_/World Health Organization/International
  • 15015/CRUK_/Cancer Research UK/United Kingdom
  • MC_UU_00004/02/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
  • Z99 CA999999/ImNIH/Intramural NIH HHS/United States

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Recent advances in lung cancer research: unravelling the future of treatment

  • Review Article
  • Published: 06 April 2024

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lancet oncology research in context

  • Luca Bertolaccini   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1153-3334 1 ,
  • Monica Casiraghi 1 , 2 ,
  • Clarissa Uslenghi 1 ,
  • Sebastiano Maiorca 1 &
  • Lorenzo Spaggiari 1 , 2  

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Lung cancer, a multifaceted disease, demands tailored therapeutic approaches due to its diverse subtypes and stages. This comprehensive review explores the intricate landscape of lung cancer research, delving into recent breakthroughs and their implications for diagnosis, therapy, and prevention. Genomic profiling and biomarker identification have ushered in the era of personalised medicine, enabling targeted therapies that minimise harm to healthy tissues while effectively combating cancer cells. The relationship between pulmonary tuberculosis and lung cancer is examined, shedding light on potential mechanisms linking these two conditions. Early detection methods, notably low-dose computed tomography scans, have significantly improved patient outcomes, emphasising the importance of timely interventions. There has been a growing interest in segmentectomy as a surgical intervention for early-stage lung cancer in recent years. Immunotherapy has emerged as a transformative approach, harnessing the body's immune system to recognise and eliminate cancer cells. Combining immunotherapy with traditional treatments, such as chemotherapy and targeted therapies, has shown enhanced efficacy, addressing the disease's heterogeneity and overcoming drug resistance. Precision medicine, guided by genomic profiling, has enabled the development of targeted therapies like tyrosine kinase inhibitors, offering personalised treatments tailored to individual patients. Challenges such as drug resistance and limited accessibility to advanced therapies persist, emphasising the need for collaborative efforts and innovative technologies like artificial intelligence. Despite challenges, ongoing interdisciplinary collaborations and technological advancements offer hope for a future where lung cancer is treatable and preventable, reducing the burden on patients and healthcare systems worldwide.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by the Italian Ministry of Health with Ricerca Corrente and 5x1000 funds.

Ministero della Salute, 5 × 1000, Ricerca Corrente.

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Luca Bertolaccini, Monica Casiraghi, Clarissa Uslenghi, Sebastiano Maiorca & Lorenzo Spaggiari

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Bertolaccini, L., Casiraghi, M., Uslenghi, C. et al. Recent advances in lung cancer research: unravelling the future of treatment. Updates Surg (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13304-024-01841-3

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We started our collaboration with the freely accessible preprint platform SSRN in June, 2018. 1 From then on, we asked all authors of research papers across Lancet journals at submission stage whether they would like to post their paper as a preprint. We started this as a trial to learn more about uptake and the perceptions of the medical and health community, particularly as a latecomer to the preprint concept.

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    The Lancet Oncology; The Lancet Planetary Health; The Lancet Psychiatry; The Lancet Public Health; The Lancet Respiratory Medicine; The Lancet Rheumatology; Regional Health Journals ... Research in context. Evidence before this study. We searched PubMed on 1 December 2022, using the search terms "COVID-19", "tuberculosis" and "Western ...

  9. Deep learning for prediction of colorectal cancer outcome ...

    Ole-Johan Skrede and colleagues 1 in The Lancet report on a computer-generated biomarker, the DoMore-v1-colorectal cancer (DoMore-v1-CRC) classifier, which was derived from conventionally stained histopathological images by using deep learning methods. This study adds value to the application of deep learning methods in cancer research as it ...

  10. The Lancet Oncology

    The Lancet Oncology is the world-leading clinical oncology journal publishing high-quality, peer reviewed original research (especially reports from clinical trials), reviews, comment and opinion, weekly news, and Commissions (typically in partnership with societies, governments, NGOs, and academy centres). The journal is lively and informative, covering international issues relevant to ...

  11. Accelerating cancer omics and precision oncology in health care and

    Accelerating cancer omics and precision oncology in health care and research: a Lancet Oncology Commission Lancet Oncol . 2023 Feb;24(2):123-125. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(23)00007-4.

  12. Vision 2020: looking back and thinking forward on The Lancet Oncology

    The Lancet Oncology was launched 20 years ago with a mission to bridge the divide between science and clinical practice, and to address the enormous global burden of cancer. Since 2011, The Lancet Oncology Commissions (figure) have been at the core of fulfilling that mandate, representing an important global public good.Together with many relevant Commissions published in The Lancet, the ...

  13. Future cancer research priorities in the USA: a Lancet Oncology

    The BRP recommendations were built on recent discoveries and rapidly accumulating big data that provide new insights into how cancers develop and progress. 2 Although specific research institutes in the USA produce a substantial body of highly-cited research outputs (figure 1), the USA lags behind other high-income countries, on the basis of field-weighted citation impact, in cancer research ...

  14. European Groundshot-addressing Europe's cancer research ...

    Cancer research is a crucial pillar for countries to deliver more affordable, higher quality, and more equitable cancer care. ... European Groundshot-addressing Europe's cancer research challenges: a Lancet Oncology Commission Lancet Oncol. 2023 Jan;24(1):e11-e56. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(22)00540-X. Epub 2022 Nov 16. Authors Mark Lawler 1 ...

  15. Putting research into context—revisited

    In July, 2005, Lancet editors wrote that "we will require authors of clinical trials submitted to The Lancet to include a clear summary of previous research findings, and to explain how their trial's findings affect this summary."1 They called for the relation between existing and new evidence to be referenced to a published systematic review or meta-analysis. The CONSORT statement2 first ...

  16. Further emphasis on research in context

    Further emphasis on research in context. Further emphasis on research in context Lancet. 2014 Dec 20;384(9961) :2176-7. ... 2 The Lancet Oncology, 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AS, UK. PMID: 25625383 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62047-X No abstract available. MeSH terms ...

  17. What is research for?

    What is research for? At first glance the question seems empty, simply a matter of definition. Since research is defined as "the systematic investigation into and the study of things in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions" (or words to that effect), it follows that that is what research is for—to figure things out. This is true in a limited sense, but ignores the fact that ...

  18. Lancet Oncology Commission on Medical Imaging and Nuclear Medicine

    In 2015, The Lancet Oncology published the results of two commissions which assessed the gaps in access to cancer surgery and radiotherapy and proposed actions to address the growing burden of cancer in LMICs. 6,7 The commission reports provided specific recommendations for increasing access to these treatment modalities and showed that doing ...

  19. The Lancet Oncology Commission

    Much of the success achieved in improving cancer outcomes over the past two decades in Europe could be reversed by the impact of the pandemic. 8 Crucially, in the context of this Lancet Oncology Commission, there has been an unsettlingly negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer research, with substantial reductions in cancer clinical ...

  20. The International Collaboration for Research methods ...

    The unique barriers to optimum cancer care in these regions necessitate context-specific research. The conduct of research in LMICs has several challenges, not least of which is a paucity of formal training in research methods. Building capacity by training early career researchers is essential to improve research output and cancer outcomes in ...

  21. Global cancer surgery: delivering safe, affordable, and ...

    Surgery is essential for global cancer care in all resource settings. Of the 15·2 million new cases of cancer in 2015, over 80% of cases will need surgery, some several times. By 2030, we estimate that annually 45 million surgical procedures will be needed worldwide. Yet, less than 25% of patients with cancer worldwide actually get safe, affordable, or timely surgery. This Commission on ...

  22. The Lancet Oncology Commission

    Much of the success achieved in improving cancer outcomes over the past two decades in Europe could be reversed by the impact of the pandemic. 8 Crucially, in the context of this Lancet Oncology Commission, there has been an unsettlingly negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer research, with substantial reductions in cancer clinical ...

  23. Guide for authors

    For the complete instructions visit The Lancet.com. Read the latest articles of The Lancet Oncology at ScienceDirect.com, Elsevier's leading platform of peer-reviewed scholarly literature.

  24. Recent advances in lung cancer research: unravelling the future of

    Lung cancer, a multifaceted disease, demands tailored therapeutic approaches due to its diverse subtypes and stages. This comprehensive review explores the intricate landscape of lung cancer research, delving into recent breakthroughs and their implications for diagnosis, therapy, and prevention. Genomic profiling and biomarker identification have ushered in the era of personalised medicine ...

  25. Preprints with The Lancet are here to stay

    Preprints with The Lancet are here to stay. See editorial "COVID-19: a stress test for trust in science" in Lancet, volume 396 on page 799. We started our collaboration with the freely accessible preprint platform SSRN in June, 2018. 1 From then on, we asked all authors of research papers across Lancet journals at submission stage whether they ...

  26. The Lancet Oncology in conversation with

    Editors at The Lancet Oncology, in conversation with the journal's authors, explore their latest research and its impact on people's health, healthcare, and health policy.. A monthly audio companion to the journal, this podcast covers a broad range of topics, from early-stage breast cancer treatment to mRNA vaccines, the access to essential cancer medicines for children to measuring ...