About NCPC

The Northwestern Cancer Prevention Consortium (NCPC) was initially funded in 2003 as a contract with the National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Prevention (NCI DCP), and was led by Raymond Bergan, MD. In 2015, Seema Khan, MD took over as the Consortium's Principal Investigator when Dr. Bergan moved to another institution. 

In 2018, NCI DCP changed the funding structure from a contract to a highly competitive cooperative group grant mechanism, called the Cancer Prevention Clinical Trials Network (CP-CTNet). NCPC successfully competed and renewed as one of five Consortium Lead Academic Organizations. 

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For cancer prevention researchers, the NCI DCP CP-CTNet offers unique advantages over other funding mechanisms for the conduct of early-phase trials. The applicant pool is restricted, so the success rate is far higher than through other mechanisms. Between 2012 and 2017, 59% of NCPC's proposals were funded, compared to only 12% for unsolicited R01 proposal submissions. Additionally, the final trial design benefits from discussions with a core group of dedicated cancer prevention researchers within the NCPC and at DCP, and the NCPC provides connections within a network of research-capable institutions for multisite recruitment. The regulatory burden is largely assumed by the NCPC Core Administrative Team. For junior investigators, this is a particularly supportive environment, and provides access to a group of clinical scientists and trial administrators who are highly experienced in the cancer prevention setting.

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​The NCPC is a part of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center (RHLCC). The RHLCC is a national leader in cancer research and resources, supporting care for a broad range of cancer types, thanks to a distinguished and dedicated faculty and staff, a world-class teaching program and a commitment to making ongoing advances in medical, surgical, radiation and interventional oncology.

 

Based on guidance from NCI DCP, the NCPC supports cancer and immunoprevention trials that:

• Study people in high-risk categories for certain types of cancer (colorectal adenoma, BRCA+, liver cirrhosis).

• Enroll between 15 and 150 participants.

• Have a treatment phase that lasts between 1 and 6 months.

• Target multiple chronic disease.

• Explore localized therapies, alternative dosing regimens, and innovative trial designs.

• Use innovative study agents (molecularly targeted agents and repurposing drugs).

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Pending, recruiting, and recently concluded trials include:​

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• Refining Tamoxifen Dose for Premenopausal Breast Cancer Risk Reduction (RENAISSANCE): A Phase II Single Arm Trial (pending).

• A phase 2 placebo-controlled trial of Urolithin A supplementation in men   with prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy (pending).

• A phase IIB clinical trial of the multitargeted recombinant adenovirus 5 (CEA/MUC1/Brachyury) vaccine (TRI-AD5) and IL-15 superagonist N-803 in lynch syndrome (recruiting).

• Metformin for chemoprevention of lung cancer in high-risk overweight or obese individuals (recruiting).

• A randomized and placebo-controlled phase II trial targeting dominant-negative missense mutant p53 by atorvastatin for reducing the risk of longstanding ulcerative colitis (recruiting).

• Surgical window of opportunity study of megestrol acetate compared with megestrol acetate and metformin for Endometrial Intraepithelial Neoplasia (recruiting).

• Role of Lisinopril in preventing the progression of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (recruiting).

• Phase I trial of endoxifen gel versus placebo gel in women undergoing breast surgery (completed).

• A phase I single-arm, multicenter pilot study aimed at validating γ-OHPdG as a biomarker and testing the effects of Polyphenon E® on its levels in patients with cirrhosis (completed).

• Phase IIB pre-surgical trial of oral tamoxifen versus transdermal 4-hydroxytamoxifen in women with DCIS of the breast (completed).

• Statin therapy to reduce disease progression from liver cirrhosis to cancer (completed).

• Immunogenicity of nonavalent HPV vaccine administered prior to renal transplantation in adults: a prospective, single-arm, multi-center clinical trial (completed).

• Evaluating intermittent dosing of aspirin for colorectal cancer chemoprevention (completed).

• Statin therapy to reduce in the risk of recurrent pancreatitis (completed).

• Phase I trial of berberine in subjects with ulcerative colitis (completed).

• A phase I trial inhaled iloprost for the prevention of lung cancer in former smokers (completed).

• Intra-mammary distribution of transdermal telapristone versus oral telapristone: a randomized window trial in women undergoing mastectomy (completed).

• Myo-inositol chemoprevention in colitis-associated dysplasia (completed).

• Phase I multiple dose study of 12-week treatment by se-methyl-L-cysteine (MSC) and L SeMet in adult males (completed).

• A phase I study of erlotinib in patients with premalignant lesions of the lung (completed).

• Pre-surgical phase IIb trial of transdermal 4-hydroxytamoxifen vs. oral tamoxifen in women with ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast (completed).

• Polyethylene glycol for ACF reduction and biomarker modulation individuals with CRC risk (completed).

• A phase I trial of ALA PDT for treatment of oral leukoplakia (completed).

• Spectral markers in aspirin chemoprevention of colonic neoplasia (completed).

• Phase I study of single oral dose of se-methyl-seleno-L-cysteine (MSC) in adult men (completed).

• Phase IIB trial of G-2535 (unconjugated isoflavones -100) in women at high risk for breast cancer (completed).

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