With support from the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF), Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, has established a new grants program to foster research that uses data derived from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Survey on COVID-19 in Oncology Registry (the “ASCO Registry”) to inform the cancer community about the patterns of symptoms and severity of COVID-19 among patients with cancer, as well as how COVID-19 is impacting the delivery of cancer care and patient outcomes. The grant award will provide funding and access to deidentified ASCO Registry data for melanoma-focused research. 

The award provides funding to qualified clinical oncology, health services, or data science researchers to support the rapid analysis of ASCO Registry data for melanoma-focused research, manuscript development, and the dissemination of findings into high-impact scientific, peer-reviewed manuscripts. Rapid discovery and translation of data into knowledge, as well as the dissemination and potential for implementation of evidence, are key to these efforts as the pandemic continues to impact patients with cancer. 

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique opportunity to capture information on how a disease outbreak affects the delivery of high-quality cancer care. While other entities have launched COVID-19 cancer registries, a majority of patients entered into the ASCO Registry are being treated at oncology practices that are independently operated or part of hospitals or health systems, rather than academic practices. ASCO’s registry collects information about patients undergoing treatment for cancer and with confirmed COVID-19 infection based on a positive test. As of March 7, 2022, the ASCO Registry has over 5,700 patients from 67 practices, with 82 patients with melanoma (see dashboard for a summary of the ASCO Registry population characteristics, including demographic and clinical factors at the time of patient enrollment to the ASCO Registry).

Research supported by the ASCO Registry:

Applicants are invited to submit research proposals consistent with ASCO’s mission with research queries that can potentially be addressed with ASCO Registry data.

ASCO’s Registry collects follow-up information on both COVID-19 disease and cancer outcomes at 30-day intervals for the first 90 days, 90-day intervals for the first year, and 6 month intervals thereafter up to two years after COVID-19 diagnosis. The overarching goals of the ASCO Registry are to conduct analyses and to create a dataset that can be translated into evidence to be used to improve outcomes of cancer patients with COVID-19.    

A detailed dataset description (which also includes the ASCO Registry study schema and data capture forms) is provided in Appendix A: ASCO Registry Dataset Documentation. For a summary of the ASCO Registry population characteristics, including demographic and clinical factors at the time of patient enrollment to the ASCO Registry please visit here. 

Note: Applicable data will be exported from the ASCO Registry on or around April 1 and no additional updates to the data will be provided; these data will be minimally cleaned and packaged for recipient of the grant. The recipient institution must sign a Data Use Agreement before data is provided.

Types of outcomes and research foci that applicants may consider with the ASCO Registry dataset:

• Evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 viral infection outcomes (hospitalizations (with or without ICU); need for ventilator; long-term symptoms; recovery; death related to COVID-19 disease complications) and cancer outcomes (disease progression, response to treatment, delays and discontinuations of cancer treatments, and death due to cancer).

• Changes in patient care and outcomes over the course of the pandemic, including differences in COVID-19 interventions, differences in patterns of anti-cancer treatment, differences in patient outcomes. 

• Comparisons of select cancer patient subgroups to COVID-19 infection, more severe cases of COVID-19 (e.g., as defined by need for hospitalization, ICU care, or ventilation), cancer outcomes, or access to COVID-19 or cancer care. Subgroups may be defined by demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender, race/ethnicity), clinical characteristics (e.g., treatment type at the time of diagnosis, cancer type, cancer stage), or interventions or care patterns related to COVID-19 (e.g., anti-COVID-19 treatments, use of telehealth). 

• Analyses that will inform future infectious disease outbreaks to minimize future disruptions in the provision of high-quality cancer care.  

• MRF centers could also develop a proposal to use ASCO Registry data as well as their own data to extend numbers and types of analyses.

Note: A respondent may also develop a novel research question in any area not listed above if it is consistent with the ASCO Registry Study Schema and ASCO’s mission, and can be addressed with the ASCO Registry data. The ASCO Registry Study Schema and all registry data capture forms are available on the ASCO website at www.asco.org/asco-coronavirus-information/coronavirus-registry. A copy of the ASCO Registry data dictionary is available upon request. 

Eligibility 

The Research Team must meet the following criteria: 

• Includes at least one oncology clinician who currently treats patients with melanoma AND at least one data scientist/biostatistician. (Involvement of an infectious disease clinician or scientist, while optional, is encouraged.)
• The primary applicant/principal investigator (PI) must hold a doctoral degree (including but not limited to MD, DO, PharmD, or PhD) at the time of grant submission and may be an oncology clinician or data scientist/biostatistician as listed above.
• The PI must be an ASCO member or have submitted a membership application with the grant application. (To apply for new membership, or to renew an existing membership, go to asco.org/membership.)
• All members of the Research Team must be physically located in the U.S.
• All members of the Research Team must be able to comply with the conditions of the Data Use Agreement.

The Sponsoring Institution* must meet the following criteria:

1. The Sponsoring Institution will administer the grant funds for the sole purpose of the project.

2. Applications may be submitted from the following entities:

• Higher Education Institutions
• Research Organizations
• Government Organizations (may include medical centers and hospitals that have access to resources and infrastructure to support a research project)
• Non-profit Organizations (includes medical societies or associations, advocacy organizations, foundations, hospitals)
• Non-Governmental Organizations.

3. The Sponsoring Institution must be based in the U.S.

4. The Sponsoring Institution must be able to comply with the conditions of the Data Use Agreement.

*Pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers, their affiliates, and related foundations are not eligible.