Last year, at ASCO's 46th Annual Meeting in Chicago, two research teams each received a Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Improving Cancer Care Grant (ICCG), funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure®. The ICCG was established to provide research funding that would address important issues regarding health-care access, quality of care, and delivery of care, with general applicability in the breast cancer arena. The 3-year grant totaling $1.35 million is the largest grant disbursed to date by the Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (formerly known as The ASCO Cancer Foundation). It was developed as part of the Conquer Cancer Foundation/Komen for the Cure Research Initiative.

Intervention for Young Women with Breast Cancer

The first grant was awarded to Ann Hart Partridge, MD, MPH, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Partridge and her team-Karen M. Emmons, PhD; Mary L. Greany, PhD; Kathryn J. Ruddy, MD, MPH; and Julie S. Najita, PhD-are addressing the issues facing young women undergoing breast cancer treatment, including fertility and preservation concerns, genetic issues, and psychosocial distress. Increased understanding of concerns that young women who undergo breast cancer treatment face "should lead to targeted clinical interventions aimed at reducing distress and improving outcomes," Dr. Partridge said.

During the first 6 months of grant support, the team has refined an exportable and sustainable educational and support intervention for young women with breast cancer. Both print and Web-based materials were developed for their Young Women's Intervention as well as for a control physical activity comparison. During the remainder of the grant, these interventions will be evaluated in comparison with another, through a randomized controlled trial in the community care setting.

Web-based Review Program

The second grant was presented to Patricia Harrigan Hardenbergh, MD, of Shaw Regional Cancer Center, who is supported by coinvestigator Carol A. Hahn, MD, of Duke University. Drs. Hardenbergh and Hahn have developed a program that uses a Web-based radiation oncology treatment-planning review program in an effort to connect small, rural radiation oncology practices to the rapidly advancing technology used in many larger practices. This program, called Chartrounds, went live on December 1, 2010, and can be found at www.chartrounds.com.

Through this project, radiation oncologists practicing in rural areas are virtually collaborating with some of the top breast radiation oncologists in the world, mimicking traditional patient chart reviews. Dr. Hardenbergh explained that the program's goal is to "help community oncologists achieve access to disease-site experts and offer top-quality care to the 85% of patients with cancer who are treated in the community setting." As of January 2011, there were already 17 breast specialists and 81 participants representing 30 states taking part in the program. Ten successful interactive Web-based sessions took place during the first 6 months of the grant support, and efforts are ongoing to assess the impact that these sessions can provide to improve the quality of patient care.

Third Grant to Be Awarded in 2011

Applications for a third Improving Cancer Care Grant, to be awarded in 2011, are currently under review. Dawn Hershman, MD, MPH, Chair of the review subcommittee, highlighted the importance of the Improving Cancer Care Grant program, saying, "This is a kind of grant that the Foundation has never really delved into in the past. We know and are learning more about treating cancer, but we also have to make sure that our treatments get to the people that need it most. And this grant really focuses on asking investigators to come up with new ways to improve cancer quality. It's critical and it's an area that's understudied, and the Conquer Cancer Foundation and Susan G. Komen for the Cure have taken a lead in recognizing this as an important area of research." ■

Selected portions reprinted from ASCO Daily News. © American Society of Clinical Oncology. (From "Research Teams Receive $1.35 Million to Improve Patient Care." ASCO Daily News, Vol. 13, No. 1, 2010: 12A.) All rights reserved.