About NCPC

The Northwestern Cancer Prevention Consortium (NCPC) was first funded in 2003 as a contract with the National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Prevention (NCI DCP), and was led by Raymond Bergan, MD. In 2015, Seema Khan MD, MPH took over as the Consortium's Principal Investigator. 

 

In 2018, NCI DCP changed the funding structure from a contract to a highly competitive cooperative group grant mechanism, called the Cancer Prevention Clinical Trials Network (CP-CTNet). NCPC successfully competed to renew our spot as one of five Consortium Lead Academic Organizations.

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For cancer prevention researchers, the NCI DCP CP-CTNet offers unique advantages over other funding mechanisms for the conduct of early-phase trials. The applicant pool is restricted, so the success rate is far higher than through other mechanisms. Between 2012 and 2017, 59% of NCPC's proposals were funded, compared to only 12% for unsolicited R01 proposal submissions. Additionally, the final trial design benefits from discussions with a core group of dedicated cancer prevention researchers within the consortium and at DCP, and the consortium provides connections within a network of research-capable institutions for multi-site recruitment. The regulatory burden is largely assumed by the NCPC Core Administrative Team.

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The NCPC works as a part of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Lurie Cancer Center is a National leader in cancer research and resources, supporting care for a broad range of cancer types thanks to a distinguished and dedicated faculty and staff, a world-class teaching program and a commitment to making ongoing advances in medical, surgical, radiation and interventional oncology.

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NCPC programs conduct phase 0, phase I, and phase II trials related to cancer prevention. The trials usually: 

• Study people in high-risk categories for certain types of cancer (colorectal adenoma, BRCA+, liver cirrhosis)

• Are placebo-controlled

• Enroll between 15 and 150 participants

• Have a treatment phase that lasts between 1 and 6 months

• Are completed within two years

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Currently recruiting and recently concluded trials include:​

• Evaluating intermittent dosing of aspirin for colorectal cancer chemoprevention (Recruiting)

• Statin therapy to reduce disease progression from liver cirrhosis to cancer (Recruiting)

• A phase I, single-arm, multicenter pilot study aimed at validating γ-OHPdG as a biomarker and testing the effects of Polyphenon E on its levels in patients with cirrhosis (Recruiting)

• Role of lisinopril in preventing the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (Recruiting)

• Testing Atorvastatin to lower colon cancer irsk in longstanding ulcerative colitis (Recruiting)

• Intra-mammary distribution of transdermal telapristone versus oral telapristone: a randomized window trial in women undergoing mastectomy (Completed)

• A phase I trial of inhaled iloprost for the prevention of lung cancer in former smokers (Completed)

• Phase I trial of Berberine in subjects with ulcerative colitis (Completed)

• Statin therapy to reduce the risk of recurrent pancreatitis (Completed)

• A Phase I trial of Endoxifen gel versus placebo gel in women undergoing breast surgery (Completed)

• Phase IIB pre-surgical trial of oral tamoxifen versus transdermal 4-hydroxytamoxifen in women with DCIS of the breast (Completed)

• Immunogenicity of nonavalent HPV vaccine administered prior to renal transplantation in adults: a prospective, single-arm, multi-center clinical trial (Completed)