# Multi-Ethnic Multi-Cancer Early Detection and Screening (MED SCREEN) Study

> **NIH NIH UG1** · KAISER FOUNDATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE · 2024 · $858,270

## Abstract

Project Summary
Multi-cancer detection (MCD) tests, which evaluate cell-free DNA and other biological components with a single
blood draw, are a new frontier in cancer screening, particularly for cancers with no effective screening methods.
Despite commercial availability, little is known about their feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness across
diverse settings and populations. To address this evidence gap, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is creating
the Cancer Screening Research Network (CSRN) to conduct rigorous, multicenter cancer screening studies. In
response to RFA-CA-23-020, we propose a CSRN ACCrual, Enrollment, and Screening Site (ACCESS) Hub
that will recruit participants for the initial Vanguard study from Kaiser Permanente (KP) across 21
sociodemographically diverse medical centers in urban, suburban, and semi-rural areas of California that include
~1.45 million adults ages 45-70 years and that can efficiently expand, for follow-up CSRN studies, to 36 medical
centers with ~3 million screening-eligible adults. Our underlying population for the Vanguard study includes large
numbers of Asian or Pacific Islander (311,959), Black (100,910), and Hispanic (285,287) adults covered by
Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance, allowing for oversampling and inclusion of underrepresented
groups. Efficiently linked by administrative and clinical data systems within an integrated health care system, the
KP ACCESS Hub is well-suited to achieve the CSRN’s goals. Our setting provides comprehensive primary and
specialty care with continuous longitudinal tracking of healthcare utilization, including standard of care cancer
screening; has low loss to follow-up due to health plan disenrollment; and captures complete real-time
information on patient encounters, referrals, diagnoses, procedures, test results, treatments, and outcomes in
extensive electronic health record data systems, including laboratory, pathology, radiology, and cancer registry
databases. The KP ACCESS Hub will be led by a multidisciplinary team embedded within KP clinical operations
and research structures. The team has decades of clinical, scientific, and implementation expertise in cancer
screening and proven experience with recruiting participants for large-volume trials, data management, and
specimen collection, including the use of oversampling and other strategies for optimizing participant diversity
and engagement. Drawing on these collective strengths, our specific aims are to: (1) Recruit, enroll, retain, and
follow a sociodemographically diverse sample of 2,400 asymptomatic, average-risk adults ages 45-70 years,
including understanding barriers to participation for underrepresented groups; (2) Develop and assess processes
to effectively communicate MCD test results to participants and providers; (3) Identify and evaluate diagnostic
pathways following a positive MCD test for timely follow-up care; and (4) Collect and transfer high-quality data
and specimens from...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10797457
- **Project number:** 1UG1CA287011-01
- **Recipient organization:** KAISER FOUNDATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** Jeffrey Kuang Zou Lee
- **Activity code:** UG1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $858,270
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-02-15 → 2027-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10797457

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10797457, Multi-Ethnic Multi-Cancer Early Detection and Screening (MED SCREEN) Study (1UG1CA287011-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10797457. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*