Enhancing capacity for primary care research in cancer survivorship: National Cancer Institute meeting report

Many components of long-term cancer follow-up and survivorship care are managed in the primary care context. Given the important role that primary care has in survivorship care, it is critical to ensure that teams in these settings are prepared to address long-term needs. Evidence-based strategies to deliver survivorship care in primary care settings in the United States remain limited. The National Cancer Institute Office of Cancer Survivorship conducted a day-long virtual event, Enhancing Capacity for Primary Care Research in Cancer Survivorship: A Workshop for Action, on February 28, 2024, to discuss research needs addressing the intersection between primary care and cancer survivorship. Topics discussed to advance this area of research included system-level interventions, methods and measurement, and mentorship and research team building, especially for early career researchers. The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of the key findings. Gaps and opportunities include (1) health systems-level research that investigates primary care practice-level capacity, (2) identification and characterization of the targeted cancer survivor populations for primary care research, (3) leveraging electronic medical records to track relevant patient outcomes throughout survivorship, and (4) development and creation of communities of practice to support and build research capacity. Team science approaches were identified as a core strategy to advance survivorship research. The meeting closed with a reflection and call to action focused on building collaborations that span different research areas, disciplines, and organizations and building a broad network of a primary care practice-focused research.