Frequently Asked Questions about the NCI Best Case Series Program

Does the NCI Best Case Series Program evaluate CAM therapies for their effectiveness as a cancer treatment?

No. An evaluation of a treatment's effectiveness is generally done by analyzing the results of well-designed and well-conducted clinical trials. Rather, the goal of the NCI Best Case Series Program is to provide an assessment of the quality of available data and its utility as support for the justification of NCI-initiated research.

Is there a minimum number of case summaries to include in my submission to the NCI Best Case Series Program?

If you have complete documentation of any case of a patient with cancer who has responded to an alternative therapy, OCCAM would like to hear from you. We will review each case submitted to us to determine which ones are optimal for development into case summaries.

It is difficult to predefine an exact number of cases necessary to obtain a recommendation for prospective research. The quality of the cases is more important than the quantity. The more high-quality cases that can be presented, the greater the probability of a recommendation for NCI-initiated prospective research will be.

Sometimes there are costs associated with acquiring medical records, radiographic imaging, or pathologic slides/blocks for patients. Who pays for this?

The costs of duplicating medical records and radiographic imaging studies are incurred by the preparer of the case submission. Most often, radiographic imaging and pathologic slides/blocks are borrowed with the understanding that they will be returned following the review. If after initial review OCCAM determines that a particular case is very important to the successful completion of your case series, then we will offer to try to assist you in obtaining the documentation.

Will NCI protect my patients' confidentiality?

While documents submitted for review must have full patient identifiers, all efforts will be made to protect patient confidentiality. Selected NCI and NIH staff will have access to these materials.

If NCI reviews a case series and determines that NCI-initiated research is warranted, is there a specific funding mechanism available to conduct research?

Yes. For specific CAM approaches which have completed the NCI BCS review, NCI has issued a broad agency announcement. This announcement solicits proposals for contracts to support prospective collaborative research between the submitting practitioner of the CAM therapy and an experienced clinical cancer researcher. For more information on this announcement, please visit http://www.cancer.gov/cam/research_funding_baa.html.