The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation has launched the SWCRF Partnerships for Aging and Cancer Research Program, an exciting research initiative that studies the genetic and environmental factors that promote rising incidence of cancer among people as they age.
Conceived by Samuel Waxman, M.D., Founder and CEO of the SWCRF, the Partnerships for Aging and Cancer Research Program launched in 2018 as a two-year pilot program executed as a collaboration between the SWCRF, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA). This initiative will bring together private foundations, corporations, philanthropists and government agencies to support this research.
Cancer is a disease of aging and as people are living longer, global populations are projected to increase dramatically. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the population of people over 65 will reach 83.7 million in 2050, almost double its size of 43.1 million in 2012. As this population booms globally so will the burden of cancer. According to the NCI, cancer incidence increases dramatically after age 40 and the median age of people diagnosed with cancer in the United States is 65. Americans diagnosed with the most prevalent cancer types are, on average, over the age of 50.
Given these alarming statistics, research that focuses on the connections between aging and cancer will benefit from the research opportunities that the partnership will generate. The goals of the SWCRF Partnerships for Aging and Cancer Research Program are to identify the causal factors that contribute to growing prevalence of cancer among people as they age and develop minimally toxic treatments to prevent this projected cancer epidemic.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROGRAM TO DATE
Grants for the Aging and Cancer Program Currently Under Review
The scientific review panel with the National Institute of Health (NIH) is currently reviewing all research grant proposals for the Partnership for Aging and Cancer Research Program in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute on Aging. We expect the NIH to announce grant recipients during the first quarter of 2019.
NCI Director, Norman Sharpless, MD Makes a Case for Research on Aging and Cancer
In the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Currents Blog, Dr. Norman Sharpless, NCI Director writes about how aging is a key risk factor for cancer and why we need more resources dedicated to researching the links between aging and cancer. “This initiative is intended to promote and support interdisciplinary research projects, sharing of resources, and development of new technologies and approaches to better understand how the physiological changes associated with aging affect cancer development, progression, and response to therapy,” he wrote.