NCI Center for Global Health - National Cancer Institute

NCI Center for Global Health - National Cancer Institute


The Center for Global Health supports NCI's goal to advance global cancer research, build expertise, and leverage resources across nations to address the challenges of cancer and reduce cancer deaths worldwide.  Enabling the open exchange of scientific knowledge is a critical goal in the fight against cancer. 
CGH Programs:

• International Cancer Research
• Cancer Research in Latin America
• Cancer Research in China
• NCI CGH Liaison Office - Brussels, Belgium

The Center for Global Health facilitates research efforts to decrease the global burden of cancer by collaborating with U.S. government agencies, foreign governments, non-government organizations, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The primary functions of the Center will be to:

• Develop and implement plans to inform cancer control, and provide technical assistance as countries work to implement cancer control programs
• Strengthen U.S. national, regional, multilateral, and bilateral collaboration in global health research, cancer research, and cancer control
• Train investigators and help develop research capacity in global health across the cancer continuum, both in the United States and in the developing world
• Develop and validate new agents and devices for cancer prevention, screening, treatment, and symptom management appropriate for use in the developing world
• Develop new scientific initiatives and implement plans relevant to global health and cancer control

Integrating Cancer Control Into Global Health

A video of the director of NCI’s Center for Global Health, discussing how NCI is coordinating research and working with partners to address the burden of cancer worldwide.

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The Center for Global Health (CGH), led by Edward L. Trimble, MD, MPH, supports the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) goal to advance global cancer research, build expertise, and leverage resources across nations to address the worldwide challenges of cancer. CGH facilitates research efforts to decrease the global burden of cancer by collaborating with international partners. Multinational and multidisciplinary collaboration is critical for ensuring progress in cancer research which is why CGH has developed a portal for International Collaboration in Clinical Trials. The portal provides researchers information about participating in clinical trials and opportunities for collaboration with US based cooperatives, groups and institutions.
Today we have an unparalleled opportunity to decrease the global burden of cancer.  There is a strong and growing awareness of the importance of global health and the need for coordinated approaches to improve global health.  There is clear evidence of progress in controlling infectious diseases worldwide, thanks to coordinated approaches in basic research, translational research, clinical trials, implementation science, and capacity building. This suggests that similar approaches will be useful for non-communicable diseases, including cancer. In addition, as much as 18 percent of cancers are caused by chronic infection. Progress in control of infectious disease has already had an impact on the incidence of some cancers linked to infection, such as liver cancer (hepatitis viruses), cervical cancer (human papillomaviruses), and stomach cancer (helicobacter pylori).
The WHO Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, which is now ratified by 143 countries, has been shown to decrease the incidence of tobacco-associated diseases, including cancer. As countries work to strengthen and streamline their health care systems, they recognize the value of integrating cancer prevention, screening, early diagnosis, and treatment programs into routine clinical care.

Global Burden of Disease

In 2008, nearly 7.6 million people worldwide died from cancer. By 2030, the number of cancer deaths may be as high as 13.2 million, due to population growth and aging.
More than 35 percent of these deaths could be prevented by controlling tobacco use, diet, alcohol use, and infection. Screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer, and improving access to effective treatments, could also save lives.
However, in many countries, people do not have access to basic cancer screening or public health resources. People in these countries may also have trouble gaining access to standard surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and palliative care resources after they are diagnosed with cancer. As a result, cancers that could be prevented or treated successfully—lung, stomach, liver, colon, and breast cancer—remain the five leading causes of cancer death for men and women in the developing world.

Contact Us
For more information about NCI's Center for Global Health contact us at: Email: NCIGlobalHealth@mail.nih.gov
Phone:  301-496-5534