John Z. Ayanian is the principal investigator on this project. Debby Collins is the project contact: 617-432-3467.
The Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance (CanCORS) Consortium was established by the National Cancer Institute in 2001 as a collaboration of seven teams of investigators throughout the United States. The Consortium’s goal is to examine the care delivered to population-based cohorts of patients with lung and colorectal cancer. For each of these cancers, approximately 5,000 patients have been enrolled in the study. These cohorts are representative of numerous geographic areas and health care delivery systems and are diverse with respect to patients’ age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, stage of disease, and burden of illness. Data have been collected from detailed surveys of patients and their caregivers and physicians, as well as extensive reviews of their medical records.
The CanCORS Consortium provides a unique opportunity to examine care that is being delivered to patients with lung and colorectal cancer in community settings in multiple regions of the United States, to identify variations in care, and to begin to understand the reasons for these variations. In addition, the Consortium is assessing outcomes associated with that care. By collecting and analyzing data from a large number of patients in geographically diverse settings, the findings of this study will help clinicians and policymakers improve cancer care and the experiences of cancer patients.
The Consortium consists of six primary data-collection and research sites and a statistical coordinating center. HCP is participating as a primary data-collection and research site in collaboration with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California to study patients with colorectal cancer and lung cancer in eight Northern California counties that include the San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento metropolitan areas. In 2009, the CanCORS Consortium was renewed by NCI to conduct extended follow-up of CanCORS participants to assess outcomes and quality of care among survivors; dissemination of new, targeted cancer therapies; and outcomes and quality of care among patients with recurrent advanced disease
