PREVENTION, CONTROL, AND DISPARITIES (PCD)

The long-term goal of the Prevention, Control, and Disparities (PCD) Program is to study how the research findings of basic, epidemiologic, and clinical research have been or should be disseminated and applied in real life. To achieve this end, the following Specific Goals will be pursued: 1. Tobacco control - We focus on the reduction of the use and ill effects of tobacco both within the community and by individuals through the use of pharmacologic and behavioral approaches to smoking cessation, understanding the root causes of addiction, and the study of screening for lung cancer in those who have smoked; 2. Chemoprevention / carcinogenesis - We pursue both in vitro studies of mechanisms for the development of chemopreventive agents and their testing in phase 1-3 clinical trials; 3. Disparities in the medically underserved - In this aim, we study and suggest interventions for disparities in cancer outcomes based on age, race/ethnicity, income, etc.; and 4. Quality of care / health outcomes - We study patterns and quality of cancer care, and the impact of alterations in care on outcomes. The PCD Program consists of 40 members (31 full members, 5 clinical mebers, and 4 associate members) from 15 departments among 6 schools within Columbia University, as well as faculty from the Weill Cornell School of Medicine and Long Island University. The Program is supported by large program project grants, including a Breast Cancer Center of Excellence grant to study racial disparities in breast cancer treatment and a U54 Cancer Center/Minority Serving Institution Collaborative Partnership with Long Island University. For the last budget year of the grant (July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2007), the PCD Program received a total of $14.1M (direct costs) in cancer-relevant grant support, including $2.9M (direct costs) in NCI funding, $9.9M (direct costs) in other cancer-related peer-reviewed funding, and $1.3M (direct costs) in cancer-related non-peer-reviewed funding. The total number of publications since the previous submission (i.e., 2003- present) was 368 of which 11.4% were intra-programmatic and 33.2% inter-programmatic. Thus, the Program's strengths in the study of racial/ethnic disparities, as well as in survivorship and health outcomes research, have become significant and interactive with other programs in the Cancer Center, including the Breast Program, Cancer Epidemiology Program, and others.