Introducing CC-DIRECT, a New NCI Public-Private Partnership

The White House announced this month a new public-private partnership to assist families with children diagnosed with cancer. The Childhood Cancer–Data Integration for Research, Education, Care, and Clinical Trials (CC-DIRECT) will be part of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and aims to help childhood cancer families find the best care for their child, participate in research initiatives like clinical trials, and establish a standardized, shareable cancer health record.

NCI Director Monica Bertagnolli, MD, wrote more about this program on the NCI’s Cancer Currents blog:

“[The Childhood Cancer Data Initiative] is already bringing together clinical care and research data from wherever a child with cancer in the United States receives care, and its capabilities and use are steadily expanding. 

NCI-supported research can transform and expand the tools available, but the ‘last mile’—from validation of an intervention to its widespread adoption and broad implementation—requires participation from many others. To make our research truly relevant, we must bridge this gap whenever a new approach is identified to ensure that all our advances benefit all who need them. 

A new initiative, known as the Childhood Cancer–Data Integration for Research, Education, Care, and Clinical Trials (CC-DIRECT), is intended to do just that. CC–DIRECT is designed to ensure that the family of every child with cancer is connected with the knowledge and resources required to access proven treatments and participate in research. 

This initiative will bring clinical and patient-navigation support to children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer and their families. It will also facilitate research participation and establish a portable, shareable, standardized cancer health record. CC-DIRECT stands out from similar programs because it represents a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership between NCI and eight partner organizations spanning the government, nonprofit, research, and clinical practice sectors.”

This is one of several new initiatives launched under the banner of the Cancer Moonshot, a set of reignited Biden Administration programs that aim to cut the cancer death rate in half over the next 25 years.