The ASCO Research Community Forum held its 2016 Annual Meeting from September 25-26 at ASCO headquarters in Alexandria, VA. More than 100 physician investigators and research staff from a variety of research sites across the United States attended the meeting.

Established in 2010, the ASCO Research Community Forum is designed to support clinical investigators and community-based research sites. Each year, the Forum holds its Annual Meeting to bring together researchers and research staff from across the country to connect, collaborate, and solve problems facing cancer research sites today. While this year’s meeting marked the fifth Research Community Forum Annual Meeting, it was the first to be held since the ASCO Board of Directors decided earlier this year to expand the scope of the Forum to provide support to all types of research sites, both in the community and academic setting.

Opening remarks were given by ASCO Research Community Forum Council Chair Michael A. Thompson, MD, PhD, and ASCO CEO Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO. ASCO Immediate Past President Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, delivered the keynote. Building off her presidential theme of “Collective Wisdom,” Dr. Vose highlighted how building on the research community’s collective knowledge and experience can improve cancer research across the country.

Howard A. Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO, Immediate Past Chair of the ASCO Research Community Forum Council, led a panel on novel clinical trial designs and adaptive designs in community-based research, which included a presentation by Don Berry, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dax Kurbegov, MD, the Council’s Chair-Elect, led a panel on the role of research within value-based care; panel participants included ASCO Chief Medical Officer Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FASCO, and community-based researchers Sibel Blau, MD, of Rainier Hematology-Oncology Northwest Medical Specialties, and Frank Senecal, MD, of Catholic Health Initiatives/Franciscan Health. The panel discussed the impact of the movement to value-based care on cancer research, including drivers such as ASCO’s value framework (visit asco.org/value for more details).

The meeting included breakout sessions on topics related to administrative and regulatory burden associated with conducting and managing clinical trials.

Nearly 20 of this year’s meeting attendees received a travel stipend award from the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Mission Endowment Fund.

In addition to holding its annual meeting, the ASCO Research Community Forum has developed tools and resources to support cancer research sites and trial management, including a new digital version of the ASCO Research Program Quality Assessment Tool, the ASCO Clinical Trial Workload Assessment Tool, and an online repository of resources. Visit asco.org/research-community-forum for more information about the Forum, its ongoing activities and projects, and updates on the next ASCO Research Community Forum Annual Meeting, which will be held in fall 2017.