Deborah Bonney

In 2006, the federal government created the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC), a publicly-funded independent corporation, to implement Canada’s cancer control strategy. Its challenge is to coordinate the development and transfer of knowledge and best practices in prevention, screening, surveillance, research, treatment and data collection. The work of a coalition of over 700 groups and individuals, which drew up the initial plan and lobbied for its funding, paved the way for the Partnership. While Health Canada has committed a substantial amount for the implementation of this strategy – $250 million over five years – the longer-term mandate and level of support for the CPAC is not known at this time.

CPAC represents a move from a fragmented, unstructured approach to cancer control in Canada to a coordinated and comprehensive approach. Based on a partnership model, it brings together key stakeholders on a national scale: cancer experts, health professionals, government agencies, community organizations, patients, survivors and their families. Similar approaches have been used in other countries and championed by the World Health Organization.

The Partnership’s overall goals are to reduce the number of cancer cases, enhance the quality of life for patients, improve treatment outcomes and increase the effectiveness of researchers and healthcare providers. Although the strategy specifically targets cancer, it is felt that the knowledge generated will have an impact on other chronic diseases.

Governance and organization
The CPAC Board of Directors, composed of 18 directors, includes representatives from cancer organizations, provincial, territorial and federal governments, aboriginal communities, and patient, family and survivor groups. National and international experts serve on the Advisory Council along with the chairs of the various Action Groups. The latter are multi-sectoral, collaborative networks that carry out projects linked to the organization’s priorities (see below).

The Partnership in action: collect, connect, collaborate, transfer
Concretely, the national strategy for cancer control focuses on nine priorities: primary prevention, screening, standards, cancer guidelines, cancer journey, health human resources, research, surveillance and knowledge management. To illustrate CPAC’s work, here is a sample of initiatives currently underway. More information can be found on the CPAC website: www.partnershipagainstcancer.ca

Cancer View Canada, a new portal, was launched in July 2009 as a national information clearing-house and a networking tool. It is designed to help patients and their families find and share credible, up-to-date information with others, and provide a place for cancer professionals to exchange and collaborate and perhaps even develop new projects together. This new “online community and workspace” will evolve along with the growth and availability of services, resources and information across Canada. Consult www.cancerviewcanada.ca to find out more.

The Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow Project is the largest population study ever undertaken in Canada. It is designed to gather information about individual health and lifestyle factors, such as diet, physical activity and smoking, and environmental factors. Five regions and their designated agencies* will work together to track 300,000 Canadians between the ages of 35 and 69 for the next 20 or 30 years. This data, to be collected through surveys, biological samples and clinical data, will be used to study how behavioural, environmental and genectic factors impact on the development of cancer.

The Prevention Policies Directory is a searchable inventory of federal, provincial/territorial and local policies and legislation concerning ‘modifiable risk factors’ – nutrition, physical activity and alcohol. Notably absent is any mention of environmental exposures. The directory can be consulted at: www.partnershipagainstcancer.ca/sites/default/files/CPACC_PP_Enviroscan_Mar2009.pdf.

CAREX: Carcinogen exposure will map known carcinogens, occupational and environmental, in Canada. It will examine “how and where Canadians are exposed to cancer-causing agents in our air, water, soil, food and everyday products”. One of the goals of this project is to provide decision-makers with critical information that can help in the development of policy and regulations concerning exposure to carcinogens. The project, based at the University of British Columbia’s School of Environmental Health, is funded through a $4.1 million grant from CPAC.

*Alberta, The Tomorrow Project; Atlantic provinces, Atlantic Path; British Columbia, BC Generations Project; Ontario, Ontario Health Study; Québec, CARTaGENE