# VCU Massey Cancer Center Minority/Underserved NCI Community Oncology Research Program

> **NIH NIH UG1** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $878,957

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Massey Cancer Center (MCC) will serve as the primary component
site for an NCORP Minority/Underserved Community Site (MU-NCORP) UG1 award in partnership with 6
collaborating community affiliate sites in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Over 30% of patients seen in the MCC
MU-NCORP are from minority populations, primarily African Americans. This proposal emphasizes the unique
urban and rural population available to the MCC MU-NCORP, the history of extensive participation by primary
health care providers and specialists, in particular, surgeons, pediatric/AYA oncologists, gynecologic surgeons,
radiation oncologists, neuro-oncologists, and medical oncologists in clinical research, and VCU initiatives in
cancer outreach conducted at rural sites across Virginia. This community-based NCORP, focused on
participation in clinical research of minority populations, was initially funded as a Minority-Based Community
Clinical Oncology Program in 1990 and has been continuously funded, including since 2014 as a MU-NCORP.
The MCC MU-NCORP has affiliations with 5 Research Bases (Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology,
Children’s Oncology Group, ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, NRG Oncology, and the Wake Forest
NCORP Research Base). Our application describes the working relationships with the Research Bases and
the focus of the MCC MU-NCORP to accrue significant numbers of minority participants in cancer control and
prevention, treatment/imaging, and cancer care delivery clinical research studies. Working relationships of the
primary site’s investigators, research staff, and support personnel with the affiliate sites are also described.
Accordingly, the specific aims of this proposal are (1) to increase the overall enrollment of racial/ethnic and
rural populations in our catchment areas to NCI-approved studies, with a greater focus on cancer control
research, cancer prevention research, and cancer care delivery research (CCDR), in addition to cancer
treatment research; (2) to collaborate with the NCORP Research Bases by (i) providing insight into relevance
for community practices during concept development, (ii) identifying care disparities our catchment areas that
should be studied, and (iii) providing input on feasibility during concept and protocol development; (3) to
exceed the required annual minimum participation in CCDR protocols; (4) to participate in biospecimen
collection for biobanks that serve as scientific resources for NCORP Research Bases; and (5) to participate in
NCORP initiatives, such as DCP-001, to document screening efforts for clinical trial enrollment and to address
cancer health disparities.
The proposed research is relevant to the mission of the NCI as MCC and the community affiliates will bring
cancer clinical trials and research to low-income, minority, and medically underserved individuals who
otherwise would not have access to such studies. Targeting the minority/underserved popula...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9998869
- **Project number:** 5UG1CA189869-07
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** HARRY D BEAR
- **Activity code:** UG1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $878,957
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-08-01 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9998869

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9998869, VCU Massey Cancer Center Minority/Underserved NCI Community Oncology Research Program (5UG1CA189869-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9998869. Licensed CC0.

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