CBCRP Activities

Strategic Objectives

The mission of the Breast Cancer Research Program is defined by its authorizing legislation as follows:

To support research efforts into the cause, cure, treatment, earlier detection, and prevention of breast cancer (from The Breast Cancer Act of 1993)

In keeping with the statutes, the Program is advised and overseen by an advisory council (the Breast Cancer Research Council). The Council is charged with developing the strategic objectives and priorities of the Program, and making final recommendations on which research grants should be funded.

Each spring, the Council meets to determine the strategic objectives and funding priorities for the next year. The overall strategic objectives, as specified in the statutes, are:

Research Priority Areas

The Council, after careful deliberation, decided that the most effective use of the $14 million available in funding Cycle II was to concentrate research funding on a small number of key issues, focusing, to the extent possible, on areas that are not as well-funded by the federal government and other agencies. The priorities established by the Council were based on: 1) the importance of each area to the fight against breast cancer; 2) the Council's sense of the potential impact of funded research on the human and economic costs of breast cancer in the state of California; and 3) the funding patterns of the federal government and other agencies. The following five priority areas were adopted:

Award Types

Research Training: Maintenance of Needed Human Resources

The relentless rate of deaths due to breast cancer over the last several decades has prompted CBCRP to provide for the training of new investigators the human resources needed to ensure progress in the fight against breast cancer. Through four award types, CBCRP endeavors to attract new investigators to breast cancer research. The Training Program Award allows an institution to develop an educational program specific to breast cancer for undergraduate and/or graduate students. Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards and New Investigator Awards allow researchers early in their careers to focus on breast cancer issues. Sabbatical Awards provide support for experienced researchers to move into breast cancer research from another field. Together, these awards bring new minds into the fight against breast cancer, and ensure the human resources required to eradicate the disease.

Targeted Research Efforts

By identifying the specific priorities listed above, the Council has attempted to encourage researchers to move into areas that are most important in the fight against breast cancer. Innovative Developmental and Exploratory Awards (IDEAs) allow researchers funds to explore new concepts in breast cancer etiology, pathogenesis, prevention, and earlier detection that could lead to breakthroughs in these fields. Research Project Awards allow researchers to build on previous work to continue to address gaps in our knowledge of specific aspects of breast cancer in the areas identified by the Council. Innovative Treatment and Models of Care Awards (ItaMoCAs) encourage development and testing of new treatment modalities or methods of delivering breast cancer care. Through these combined efforts of exploring new concepts and building on existing knowledge, the resulting improvements in prevention, detection and cure of breast cancer will advance the day when we can say with confidence that breast cancer is no longer a threat to the people of California.

Special Considerations

Innovativeness

In keeping with the intent of the enabling legislation, the Council focuses on funding innovative and creative research. Every grant application is scored by reviewers on this aspect, which the Council weighs in making its final funding recommendations.

Multidisciplinary Research

The Council encourages researchers to apply ideas from various fields to their research by collaborating across fields. This aspect of applications is also rated by reviewers and taken into consideration in making funding decisions.

Translational Potential

A goal of the CBCRP is to encourage the translation of scientific findings into practical applications that will make a difference to those at risk for, or diagnosed with, breast cancer. The potential of research findings to be translated into practical applications is rated by reviewers and taken into consideration in funding decisions.

Focus on the Underserved

Another issue identified by the Council as critically important is the disparity in the incidence and mortality of breast cancer between different groups of Californians. Research which has the potential to reduce these disparities was specifically requested in the Call for Applications, identified by reviewers and considered by the Council in making funding recommendations.

1996 Public Advisory Meeting

In 1996, the CBCRP completed its second funding cycle. In preparation for Cycle III, the Council wished to evaluate the results of the first two cycles and to receive input from people across the state. It therefore hosted a statewide meeting—the 1996 Public Advisory Meeting to seek input from a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the Program, including breast cancer patient advocates, non-profit health organizations, community-based organizations, clinicians, and researchers from the biotechnology, academic, and private research institute arenas.

At the meeting, experts from outside the state reported on the current status of breast cancer research, and future challenges. Attendees then met in break-out sessions to address specific questions posed by the Council regarding the Program's priority areas for Cycle III. The outcome was a list of new priority areas, and methods to achieve these goals, many of which are being developed for the third cycle (see below). The Proceedings of the 1996 Advisory Meeting are available on the CBCRP website and upon request.

Collaboration with Communities

Close collaboration with organizations and individuals involved in breast cancer issues is a guiding principle of the CBCRP. The 16-member BCRC includes 5 breast cancer advocates. These members are well respected for their years of exemplary service in the fight against breast cancer, and bring community perspectives to the Council's decision-making. Each Review Committee that evaluates grant proposals includes 2 advocates who serve as voting members, and a third who serves as a non-voting observer from California and provides feedback on the process. Information is disseminated to communities through distribution of the CBCRP Bulletin, the Annual Report, the Compendium of Awards and conferences (which are open to all interested). An internet website provides access to all CBCRP documents including publications, BCRC meeting minutes and progress reports of funded projects.

In addition, the CBCRP Director interacts with, and serves on various committees for, other agencies and organizations, including the Department of Health Services Breast Cancer Early Detection Advisory Committee, the Breast Cancer Treatment Fund Advisory Committee, the American Cancer Society, and The Breast Cancer Fund.

These efforts establish effective dialogue with groups and individuals involved in breast cancer issues. They assure wide dissemination of research results, funding priorities that are important to those most affected by breast cancer, and funded projects which respond to these priorities.

As a result of feedback from the 1996 Public Advisory Meeting, BCRC members and CBCRP staff together developed a new award type to specifically solicit research proposals which arise from communities and are developed and carried out by partnerships of community members and experienced research scientists. This award type, offered in Cycle III (1996-1997), will help to spread CBCRP's principle of community involvement and collaboration throughout the research community in the state and result in investigations in areas of research identified by, and important to, communities across the state.

Dissemination of Research Results

The CBCRP is committed to disseminating the results of research that it funds, both to the scientific and medical communities (to facilitate the advancement of the understanding of breast cancer and its treatment across all involved) and to the public (as stakeholders in the Program). To this end, funded research is widely publicized from its inception (the Compendium of Awards, widely distributed and posted on the CBCRP website), through its progress (abstracts of required Annual Scientific Reports are posted on the website), to completion (summarized in the Annual Report, also widely distributed and posted on the website). Researchers publish final results in scientific journals and present them at scientific conferences; these publications and presentations are tracked by CBCRP.

With the first funded projects now producing results, the Council and CBCRP staff are preparing to hold the 1997 California Breast Cancer Research Symposium in September, 1997. At this meeting, open to all interested individuals, funded investigators will present the findings of their research and discuss these with other researchers and the lay public. Opportunities will be provided for individuals to share ideas and network, to create synergy and facilitate collaboration.

Translation of Research Result into Practical Applications

A goal of the CBCRP is to encourage the translation of research findings into practical applications that will make a difference to those at risk for, or diagnosed with, breast cancer. Facilitating this process is one of the charges of the Council. One strategy to achieve this goal has been outreach to California biotechnology researchers to encourage applications of research findings.

In 1996, BCRC members and CBCRP staff together developed a new award type to specifically solicit research proposals for translational research which arises from partnerships of research scientists from different fields and/or institutions (especially encouraging collaborations between academic and industry-based biotechnology researchers). This award type, offered in Cycle III (1996-1997), will help to spread CBCRP's principle of translation and collaboration throughout the research community in the state and result in teams across the state who are poised to take research results and use them to develop products, treatments, and services.