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International Activities and Research Collaboration with India

The international activities of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM) are focused on developing international collaborations to study various aspects of cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). OCCAM staff, along with other NCI colleagues, promote international CAM research in the following ways:

  • providing training opportunities
  • organizing conferences
  • providing technical support for identification and characterization of new CAM agents, and
  • supporting research on development and testing of novel CAM therapies and applications of CAM within social, economic, traditional and cultural framework for the treatment of cancer.

OCCAM’s International Activities and NIH Supported Research

This site describes some of OCCAM’s international activities, resources about NIH -supported research and CAM research. It should be noted that not all funding opportunities are open to international institutions. This information is specified in Section III (Eligible Applicants) of all NIH Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA). Please review examples of eligibility.

  • The Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT) website provides access to a variety of reporting tools, reports, data, and analyses of NIH research activities. One of the tools available on the RePORT site is the RePORTER (RePORT Expenditures and Results) module. RePORTER is an electronic tool that allows users to search a repository of NIH-funded research projects and access publications and patents resulting from NIH funding. RePORT can be used by potential applicants to identify potential collaborators based on their research interest.
  • The NIH Grants & Funding website provides information about grants and funding. The Sample Applications & More page at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) site provides information about sample applications and summary statements.

Research Collaboration with India

In October 2020, the Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM) of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD) signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) of India.

Both participants intend for research and training collaboration activities under this LOI to be governed by the AGREEMENT ON SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL COOPERATION WITH INDIA (state.gov) signed at New Delhi on September 20 and 23, 2019.

All activities included under this LOI are intended to enhance potential cancer prevention, control and treatment that would benefit both countries and possibly other Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).

The collaboration will include the following areas:

  • Research programs in mutually identified research areas, including technical inputs for development of protocols for any collaborative research in the field of research and development in Ayurveda.
  • Advise and enhance collaboration of U. S. researchers with CCRAS's work related to preclinical/clinical studies.
  • Joint workshops, seminars, conferences, or trainings to identify key areas where research work can be intensified. These include potential cooperative research and research-training programs and activities related to the field of Ayurveda and possibly other areas of integrative oncology.
  • Exchanges of scientists in the field of CAM and integrative oncology research through which the participants expect to gain from each other's expertise. These include Ayurveda scientists.
  • Identification of cancer CAM research gaps and any other potential CAM research activities related to cancer and integrative oncology that may be mutually decided upon by the participants; and
  • Extension of technical support by OCCAM to CCRAS in the field of CAM research related to cancer.

Thinking Together: A research-based dialog

In keeping with the Letter of Intent (LOI) for scientific collaboration between the Office of Cancer Complementary Medicine (OCCAM) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI-NIH) and the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) in India, a series of webinars titled Thinking Together – A research-based dialog between NCI/OCCAM and CCRAS, India, was started on October 7, 2021.

These webinars were designed for the two lead organizations to present and discuss issues related to the potential for Ayurvedic and Western medicine physicians and scientists to work together, and that research might develop from such interactions.

October 7, 2021, Webinar: More than 75 participants from different cancer centers, academic and research institutions in India, the United States, Brazil, as well as officers from the World Health Organization (WHO) attended the first webinar. 

The video recording includes two presentations. One is entitled "The Integrative Oncology Model of MD Anderson Cancer Center & Potential for Partnerships including the potential for Ayurveda Research Collaborations". The second presentation focused on the Global NCI Research Training Program that supports collaborations with Low-and-Middle Income Countries (LMICs).  The presentation also included an overview of the different global research training opportunities available at NCI and other institutes and centers at NIH.

Both presentations included a broad discussion about what integration/collaboration between Western cancer care and Ayurveda might look like. It focused on potential opportunities for research/training projects pertaining to integrative oncology (Ayurveda and Western conventional oncology) by research centers and universities in the US, India and possibly other LMICs.

November 30, 2021, Webinar: The title of the webinar was "Focus on Cancer and Traditional Medicine: Experiences from India". Welcome and opening comments by Director General, CCRAS, N. Srikanth, Jeffrey White (OCCAM), and Alejandro Salicrup (Center for Global Health, NCI). This was followed by three scientific presentations and discussions on the following topics:

  1. Ayurveda in Cancer Care and Research in India (Manohar Gundeti, CCRAS)
  2. Experiences from Integrated Cancer Care and Treatment (Vinita Deshmukh, ICTRC)
  3. Experiences from tertiary cancer center (TMH) in the integrative management and research on cancer and potential for partnerships (Shripad Banavali, Tata Memorial Centre)

January 27, 2022, Webinar: The third webinar of the series included a scientific presentation by Dr. Jun J. Mao, Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine & Chief of the Integrative Medicine Service at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). It was entitled “Research to Inform Evidence-based Integrative Oncology.” Dr. Mao provided an overview of MSK's integrative medicine program and model for international collaborations. Dr. Mao discussed in detail his research using acupuncture as an example to make a case that research is important to support evidence-based growth of integrative oncology including the use of Ayurveda. 

The webinar also included a presentation by Dr. Vidya Vedham, Program Officer, Center for Global Health, NCI/NIH about NCI's Short-Term Scientist Exchange Program (STSEP). Both presentations were followed by extensive discussion involving researchers and practitioners from the U.S., India, Brazil and other LMICs.

April 28, 2022, Webinar: Thinking Together - A research-based dialog between NCI/OCCAM and CCRAS, India

  1. Welcome on behalf of OCCAM/DCTD-NCI and CCRAS: Dr. Jeffrey D. White & Dr. R. Acharya
  2. Introduction to the webinar and speakers: Dr. Alejandro Salicrup, NCI/NIH
  3. Scientific Presentation: Dr. Jennifer Ligibel and Dr. Weidong Lu, Dana Farber Cancer Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA- Design and Implementation of a Multi-National Acupuncture Intervention Clinical Trial
  4. Q&A and Discussion
  5. Program Presentation: Dr. Alejandro Salicrup, Senior Advisor for Global Health Research, National Cancer Institute, NCI-NIH: NOSI Supplement on Global Integrative Oncology Research
  6. Q&A and Discussion
  7. Announcements & Next Steps
  8. Adjourn

Other International Activities

In April 2006, the Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM) hosted a conference titled “Traditional Chinese Medicine and Cancer Research: Fostering Collaborations; Advancing the Science.” The conference focused on Chinese Medicine (CM) anticancer drugs, natural products, herbal mixtures such as PHY906, and chemoprevention with salvia miltiorrhiza (Dan Shen) and Oplopanax horridus. OCCAM and Cancer Institute of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (CACMS) organized follow-up international conferences in 2011 and 2013 in Beijing, China.

OCCAM and Cancer Institute of CACMS proposed the establishment of International Consortium for Chinese Medicine and Cancer (ICCMC) in 2014. In 2016 and 2019, OCCAM organized workshops to assess the research evidence for the use of acupuncture in cancer symptom management and control of drug addiction (https://www.liebertpub.com/toc/acu/32/6).
OCCAM collaborated with NCI’s Center for Cancer Research to conduct in-vitro and in-vivo studies of berberine and cryptotanshinone. In addition, the Chinese medicine plant library was also studied.

In 2021, OCCAM proposed a project titled ‘Integrative Medicine (IM) and COVID-19 Care’ to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). The project was to demonstrate how integrative medicine (IM) can help to build better, effective and efficient healthcare systems to control COVID-19 and related diseases.

The Objectives of the Project were:

  1. To conduct comprehensive research for developing a preliminary document of recommendations and guidelines of IM for COVID-19 Care.
  2. To convene an APEC virtual workshop on IM and COVID-19 Care on September 20-22, 2022.
  3. To systematically review and incorporate the workshop outcomes into the project report and official version of recommendations and guidelines of IM for COVID-19 care.
  4. To form an APEC working group to promote the IM applications on COVID-19 care and other diseases, as well as future international collaborations.

References

  1. L Jia, Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Research at the US National Cancer Institute. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine, 2012, 18 (5):325-332. doi: 10.1007/s11655-011-0950 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22241505/
  2. Z Zhao, H Fan, T Higgins, et al., Fufang Kushen injection inhibits sarcoma growth and tumor-induced hyperalgesia via TRPV1 pathways. Cancer Letters, 2014, 355:232-241, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.canlet.2014.08.037
  3. W Li, B Hua, SM Saud, H Lin, et al., Berberine regulates AMP-activated protein kinase signaling pathways and inhibits colon tumorigenesis in mice. Mol. Carcinog. 2015, 54:1096-1109. doi: 10.1002/mc.22179
  4. W Li, SM Saud, MR Young, et al., Targeting AMPK for cancer prevention and treatment. Oncotarget. 2015, 6(10):7365-7378 doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.3629
  5. JD White, HS Lin, L Jia, et al., Proceedings of the Strategy Meeting for the Development of an International Consortium for Chinese Medicine and Cancer. Journal of Global Oncology, 2017, 3(6):814-822, doi: 10.1200/JGO.2016.005710. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29244995/
  6. L Jia, H Lin, J Oppenheim, O. et al., US National Cancer Institute–China Collaborative Studies on Chinese Medicine and Cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr., 2017 (52):lgx007, 58-61. doi: 10.1093/jncimonographs/lgx007
  7. FZ Zia, O Olaku, T Bao, et al., The National Cancer Institute’s Conference on Acupuncture for Symptom Management in Oncology: State of the Science, Evidence, and Research Gaps. JNCI Monographs, Volume 2017, Issue 52, November 2017, lgx005, https://doi.org/10.1093/jncimonographs/lgx005
  8. M He, T Grkovic, J Evans, et al., The NCI library of Traditional Chinese medicine plant extracts – Preliminary assessment of the NCI-60 activity and chemical profiling of selected species. Fitoterapia, 2019, 137:104285, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fitote.2019.104285
  9. S Liu, Z Han, AL Trivitt, et al., Cryptotanshinone has curative dual anti-proliferative and immunotherapeutic effects on mouse Lewis lung carcinoma. Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy, 2019, 68:1059-1071, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00262-019-02326-8
  10. Z Han, S Liu, HS Lin, et al., Inhibition of murine hepatoma tumor growth by cryptotanshinone involves TLR7-dependent activation of macrophages and induction of adaptive antitumor immune defenses. Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy, 2019, 68:1073-1085, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00262-019-02338-4
  11. SA Long, S Huang, A Kambala, et al., Identification of potential modulators of osteosarcoma metastasis by high-throughput cellular screening of natural products. Chemical Biology and Drug Design, 2021, 97(1):77-86. https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:000552695300001 doi: 10.1111/cbdd.13762
  12. L Jia, W Lu, RC. Niemtzow, et al., A virtual roundtable discussion highlighting the latest acupuncture research and practice. Medical Acupuncture, 2020, 32(6):336–344. doi: 10.1089/acu.2020.29158.rtl

Contact

Libin Jia, M.D.
Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis
National Cancer Institute
9609 Medical Center Drive, 
Rockville, MD 20850
Tel: 240-276-7790
Email: libinj@nih.gov

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