Practical Research for Innovative Cancer Control Management Office
Fumitaka Takeshita, Satoru Sekiya, Sachie Ishibashi, Etsuko Oomichi, Yoshiyuki Sano, Syooko Ikeda, Kazutaka Togashi, Huang Lijuan, Toshio Ogawa
Introduction
The "Practical Research for Innovative Cancer Control Management Office (PRIMO)" is one of the research projects of the Innovative Cancer Medical Practical Research Program (Innovative Cancer Program) run by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). Its main task is to support the Program Supervisor (PS) and Program Officer (PO) of the program, as well as the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Innovative Cancer Program.
Research Activities
1. Support for PS/PO through a progress management system: PRIMO-employed staff members (Project Mediators: PMs) were assigned to each research area. Using the PRIMO Progress Management System, they collected information on the progress of assigned projects and prepared related materials.
2. Data mining: Using the integrated research information database Dimensions, efforts were made to help PS/PO gain a comprehensive understanding of international cancer research trends. For macro-level analysis, one report titled "Macro Analysis Report on Global Trends in Cancer Research" was prepared. For micro-level analysis, three reports were produced: "Comparative Study of Overseas Research Funding Agencies and Japan’s Young Researcher Support Initiatives," "Recent Global Development Trends in T-Cell Engagers," and "International Research Trends in Convergence Research."
3. PRIMO consultation: Through coordination by PMs, representative and collaborating principal investigators (PIs) provided expert advice at the request of POs and Innovative Cancer Research PIs. In FY2024, five consultation cases were conducted. In addition, an ethics training workshop was jointly held with the Next-Generation Cancer Project.
4. PRIMO technical support: This activity aims to facilitate collaborative research between PIs of the Innovative Cancer Project and researchers capable of providing advanced technologies and bioresources. The menu of technical support services was renewed.
5. Information dissemination at academic meetings: At the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Medical Oncology, PRIMO conducted both a poster presentation and booth exhibition to introduce its support activities to researchers.
6. Update of the Treatment Development Map: The Treatment Development Map, which includes information on standard treatments and clinical trials for 38 cancer types, was updated in collaboration with domestic multicenter trial groups. Sections on cancer pain and cancer treatment–related pain were newly added, and the updated version was published on the PRIMO portal site.
Education
We have trained personnel who can be successful as PMs.
Future Prospects
In fiscal 2025, we will continue to enhance our support offerings and contribute to accelerating progress on each study of the Innovative Cancer Project.