Our Purpose
Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada – 1 in every 2 Canadians will receive a cancer diagnosis during their lifetime, and approximately 1 in 4 will die from the disease. Despite improvements in treatment, the significant burden of cancer will continue to increase with the aging Canadian population. Cancer incidence rates vary depending on different levels of risks (such as exposures or lifestyle behaviours), and early detection and screening.
Given the scale of the cancer burden, research has shown that cancer control must move beyond a focus on treatment and toward primary prevention—preventing cancer before it starts. It is estimated that around 40% of all cancers are preventable through appropriate application of existing epidemiological and public health knowledge, and with further research, this proportion will increase.
However, there is a gap between knowledge and action in cancer prevention, contributing to the spiraling cancer control problem. This highlights the urgent need for collaborative and transdisciplinary work to close this gap and advance cancer prevention in a significant and equitable way. The Cancer Prevention Research Cluster (CPRC) will contribute to closing the implementation gap between cancer prevention knowledge and action by integrating researchers with key knowledge users and partners to drive cancer prevention forward for maximum population-level impact.
Health equity is central to ensuring all in society benefit from advances in health, and health equity is at the core of the CPRC. The critical innovation in the CPRC is the cross-cutting of disciplines, with research focused on priority populations to tackle inequities in cancer risk and cancer outcomes. Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is at the heart of the CPRC research agenda, as well as the development of the team.
Evidence shows that preventable causes of cancer are not evenly distributed throughout populations. Inequities in exposures, behaviours and environments — based upon sex, gender, ethnicity, race, socio-economic status and many other factors — are identifiable. This manifests in inequities in cancer outcomes. Moreover, system and structural inequities impact the effectiveness of prevention activities for many population groups. Our health equity population-health approach, embedded across all research and outreach activities, will ensure the inclusion of all population groups, with research outputs that impact beyond individuals. The CPRC, which combines experts in Indigenous health, health equity, and women’s health amongst other relevant areas, will ensure that cancer prevention research activities are equitable and inclusive, supporting cancer reduction for all.
Our Research Pillars
The CPRC will tackle the wide-ranging social-environmental determinants of cancer through cross-cutting research pillars, adopting a transdisciplinary and health equity lens to advance critical components of cancer prevention across the following five core research pillars:
- Indigenous Health and Wellness
- Occupational Cancer Prevention
- Lifestyle Behaviours and Cancer Risk
- Healthy Cities, the Built Environment, Environmental Equity
- Personalized Cancer Prevention