an action Plan f or t ranslating Cancer Sur vivorship r esearch Into Care

To meet the complex needs of a growing number of cancer survivors, it is essential to accelerate the translation of survivorship research into evidence-based interventions and, as appropriate, recommendations for care that may be implemented in a wide variety of settings. Current progress in translating research into care is stymied, with results of many studies un- or underutilized. To better understand this problem and identify strategies to encourage the translation of survivorship research findings into practice, four agencies (American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, LIVE STRONG Foundation, National Cancer Institute) hosted a meeting in June, 2012, titled: “Biennial Cancer Survivorship Research Conference: Translating Science to Care.” Meeting participants concluded that accelerating science into care will require a coordinated, collaborative effort by individuals from diverse settings, including researchers and clinicians, survivors and families, public health professionals, and policy makers. This commentary describes an approach stemming from that meeting to facilitate translating research into care by changing the process of conducting research—improving communication, collaboration, evaluation, and feedback through true and ongoing partnerships. We apply the T0-T4 translational process model to survivorship research and provide illustrations of its use. The resultant framework is intended to orient stakeholders to the role of their work in the translational process and facilitate the transdisciplinary collaboration needed to translate basic discoveries into best practices regarding clinical care, self-care/management, and community programs for cancer survivors. Finally, we discuss barriers to implementing translational survivorship science identified at the meeting, along with future directions to accelerate this process. JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst (2014) 106(11): dju287 There are an estimated 14.5 million cancer survivors living in the United States in 2014 (1), and this number is expected to increase dramatically in the coming decade because of increased uptake of cancer screening, improved methods of early detection, better multimodal cancer treatments, and the aging of the population (2,3). Multiple reports have documented that survivors have unique and complex needs (4–8). These include management of chronic and late effects of cancer and comorbid conditions, surveillance and treatment for recurrence and second cancers, help with psychological, social, economic, and family concerns, support to improve lifestyle behaviors, and interventions to increase adherence to long-term treatment and follow-up care guidelines. The United States is currently struggling to identify a coordinated medical and public health approach to meet these diverse needs. Predicted shortages in oncologists (9), primary care practitioners (10), and other medical health professionals underscore the need for effective and efficient care for cancer survivors. The financial impact of cancer survivorship adds to this urgency: By 2020, the burgeoning population of cancer survivors is projected