Members of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Telehealth Research Centers of Excellence (TRACE) came together for their 2nd Annual Meeting at the University of Pennsylvania on May 1, 2024. Hosted by the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I) and the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC), the meeting brought together representatives from the National Cancer Institute and from all four centers involved in this national initiative: the University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, New York University, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Over 40 leaders, investigators, and staff met to share updates, results, and expertise from their respective centers and discuss potential areas of collaboration.

Katherine Courtright, MD, MSHP, Assistant Professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania, began the meeting with a keynote lecture titled, “Pragmatic Clinical Trials: Opportunities to Improve Cancer Care.” The presentation focused on the rationale for and the role of pragmatic clinical trials in translating research to clinical practice, ending with an overview of the pragmatic trials currently underway to test the effectiveness of nudges in serious illness care.

After each TRACE center shared updates, preliminary results, and future pilot studies, members broke into groups to discuss potential cross-center projects focused on telehealth equity and shared data elements. Attendees then heard presentations from TRACE Junior Investigators, an initiative that was established to foster mentorship and engagement among early-stage researchers and trainees who have interests at the intersection of cancer control and telehealth. The meeting concluded with TRACE members collectively reflecting on the day and discussing next steps for future meetings and other opportunities for collaboration. 

The NCI’s Telehealth Research Centers of Excellence are supported through the White House’s Cancer Moonshot, which aims to reduce the cancer death rate by half within 25 years and improve the lives of people with cancer and cancer survivors. TRACE consists of the following centers, all dedicated to conducting research on the role of telehealth in delivering cancer-related health care: 

• University of Pennsylvania Telehealth Research Center of Excellence (Penn TRACE): University of Pennsylvania
• Making Telehealth Delivery of Cancer Care at Home Effective and Safe (MATCHES): Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• Scalable TELeheaLth Cancer CARe (STELLAR): Northwestern University at Chicago
• Telehealth Research and Innovation for Veterans with Cancer (THRIVE): New York University Grossman School of Medicine