The National Cancer Institute (NCI) launched the Cancer Screening Research Network (CSRN) in February 2024 to evaluate emerging technologies for cancer screening. The CSRN conducts rigorous, multi-center cancer screening trials with large populations in a variety of health care settings with the ultimate goal of reducing cancer-related illnesses and deaths.
New emerging technologies, including Multi-Cancer Detection assays (MCDs), are rapidly coming forward for commercial availability, though a variety of challenges exist in the design and conduct of randomized controlled trials that evaluate MCD tests to screen for multiple different cancers.
In 2025, the CSRN launched a pilot study, called the Vanguard Study, to address the feasibility of using MCD tests in future randomized controlled trials.
The Cancer Screening Research Network (CSRN) is comprised of the National Cancer Institute; a Statistics and Data Management Center; a Coordinating and Communication Center; and nine Accrual, Enrollment, and Screening Site (ACCESS) Hubs. Members of all those organizations participate in the Cancer Screening Research Network steering committee.
The nine ACCESS Hubs include:
- Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences
- Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, and Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine
- OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
- University of Colorado Cancer Center, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii
- University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Virginia Commonwealth University, Inova, and Sentara Health
- Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
- Department of Defense Uniformed Services University
- Department of Veterans Affairs