Physician & Community Resources
As promising new cancer screening technologies emerge, large-scale, controlled clinical trials are required to evaluate their effectiveness and the ability to incorporate such technology into routine practice. The Virginia CSRN connects potential participants with information about upcoming and enrolling studies while working with referring physicians to find local partners and providers, ensuring care close to home.
Questions? For more information about physician, community or patient resources, please contact us at virginiacsrn@vcu.edu.
Referrals and Physician Resources
Whether you are a primary care physician, oncologist or other health care professional, we encourage you to consider participation for eligible individuals. The Virginia CSRN is available to connect interested participants with more information regarding study enrollment, local practices and providers, as well as national resources available as part of the CSRN.All CSRN study participants will receive standard cancer screening testing, including currently recommended methods to test for breast, colorectal, cervical and lung cancers. Anyone receiving a positive test through regular screening or new testing technology will be routed to receive the appropriate follow-up care. The Virginia CSRN is available to connect patients with additional services as needed within a partner care facility.
The NCI Vanguard Study will be the first trial available through the CSRN, launching in 2024. This MCD test will help inform future trials over the next decade in an effort to answer key preventive services questions. The four-year pilot study will enroll 24,000 people ages 45 to 70 to inform the design of future randomized controlled trials.
The Vanguard Study will not be enrolling participants until the study is launched later this year.
New cancer screening modalities, including multi-cancer detection (MCD) tests, will be tested through the CSRN. MCD tests screen for multiple types of cancers simultaneously with a single blood draw. With the ability to detect disease beyond the current five screenable cancers, MCD testing has the potential to improve cancer detection at earlier stages, when diseases are most treatable.
Participant & Community Resources
While more individuals are living with cancer, rates of cancer incidence are also on the rise. The earlier that cancer is found, the higher the chance of survival. When diagnosed early, before cancer can spread, the overall five-year survival rate is four times higher than when diagnosed in later stages. The CSRN is a critical step forward in early detection of cancer.
As a greater understanding of new screening technologies and advances are made through the CSRN, current cancer screening guidelines should be followed. Not sure when, or how, to get screened? Explore screening recommendations below to help detect cancer sooner.