Message From the Workshop Organizers

An excellent foundation for research planning was created in the multidisciplinary NIA/NCI Workshop, Exploring the Role of Cancer Centers for Integrating Aging and Cancer Research. We are pleased to present the results of a highly successful collaboration of individuals convened to identify high priority research at the complex interface of aging and cancer across a broad scientific spectrum. Workshop participants included senior scientific leaders from cancer centers, the medical practice community, health professionals, leaders in cancer patient advocacy groups, and NIA and NCI staff. This report presents a summary of their hard work and indicates their commitment to the workshop goal and objectives to increase the knowledge base on cancer in older persons. In breakout groups, research questions were generated to guide discussion. Participants also provided their perspectives on barriers to research progress and suggested mechanisms to facilitate integration of aging and cancer research.

The ever-increasing proportion and number of older persons in the American population present many scientific challenges and opportunities to integrate aging and cancer research and to translate the knowledge gained into interventions to improve cancer prevention in older persons and early detection, diagnosis, treatment, quality of care, and the quality of survival for cancer patients. The planning committee selected seven thematic areas for the workshop. Together, these themes provide a comprehensive framework for applying the expertise and unique research infrastructure of cancer centers on behalf of our nation's current and future older persons.

Research priorities proposed in the workshop provide direction and will contribute greatly to closing the considerable knowledge gap on cancer in older persons and the impact of aging and age-related health problems on the cancer course. Other components common to the seven individual reports, such as research questions, cancer center role, and research barriers, offer promising leads for translational research and critically essential interventions that could substantially reduce the magnitude of the high cancer incidence and mortality burden in the aging U.S. population. This report is intended to stimulate interest to design and propose aging/cancer research initiatives within a cancer center or in partnership with cancer centers and other research institutions.