Advancing Cancer Screening and Prevention Trials at the University of Colorado Cancer Center

The University of Colorado Cancer Center (UCCC) is the only NCI-designated Cancer Center in Colorado serving a primary catchment area of the State of Colorado. The vision of UCCC is to prevent and conquer cancer. Together. Dr. Wood joined the faculty and UCCC in 2021. She is a leader in cancer screening and prevention research at the national level, with a long history of participation in the Alliance for Clinical Trials group. She is the Deputy Director of the Cancer Control Program and Co-chair of the Prevention committee and has been the national principal investigator (PI) for four clinical trials, one of which is open and accruing (A212102: A Blinded Reference Set for Multicancer Early Detection Blood Tests). She is also involved in the newly formed Cancer Screening Research Network (CSRN), serving on the Clinical Integration Committee for the network. She is a member of both the NCIs Cancer Prevention Steering Committee and prevention CIRB. Since joining the faculty of University of Colorado, she has been the medical director of the University of Colorado Cancer Clinic trials office (CCTO). During this time she has worked with the team to improve accrual, finally seeing a 10% increase in Q4 of 2024 and significant increase in Q1 of 2025, which if sustained will be a 4 year high in accrual. She has also assisted in efforts to improve diversity with now over 20% of accruals being from underrepresented groups. Finally, she has launched a new modality team within the CCTO focused on cancer prevention and survivorship. However, there remains a critical need to increase accrual to clinical trials, especially among underrepresented populations, and a significant need for greater focus on cancer screening and prevention trials both locally and nationally. Dr. Wood proposes a 3-part approach to increasing accrual and diversity though: 1. Increased number of NCTN trials in the area of cancer prevention and survivorship. 2. Engagement and mentoring of advance practice providers to act as site PIs for NCTN trials and 3. Bidirectional work with the Cancer Prevention and Survivorship team and the community outreach and engagement (COE) office to increase community awareness of trials in the cancer screening and prevention area. She will work towards expanding studies in cancer screening space focused on the developing area of Multicancer Early Detection (MCED) testing. Support from the Research Specialist grant will ensure that Dr. Wood has the protected time to support the above efforts. By focusing in the areas of cancer screening, prevention and survivorship Dr. Wood will not only increase accrual to NCI funded trials but advance the UCCC goals of performing highly innovative and accessible clinical trials and advancing health equity and reduce disparities across the continuum from prevention to survivorship. Support from the Research Specialist grant will ensure that Dr. Wood has the protected time to support the above efforts. Project Number: 1R50CA305205-01 | Fiscal Year: 2025 | NIH Institute/Center: National Cancer Institute (NCI) | Principal Investigator: Marie Wood | Institution: UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER, Aurora, CO | Award Amount: $547,080 | Activity Code: R50 | Study Section: Special Emphasis Panel[ZCA1 SRB-5 (M1)] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11225630