Grant: Planning Grants

Surgery for cancer of the liver or pancreas is complex and performed by a subspecialized group of surgeons in Canada. Evidence to support best practices in this type of surgery is limited, so patients and surgeons must frequently make decisions based on incomplete information. Our goal is to perform collaborative research that contributes to this knowledge gap and ultimately improves the lives of patients with pancreatic or liver cancer. In December 2011 we established a collaborative group in Ontario and created a list of 50 potential research questions that we considered relevant and controversial. Through consultation with all surgeons in Ontario who perform liver or pancreas surgery, we reduced this list to the top 10 projects. This grant proposes to expand this initiative to become a national collaborative group: the "HepatoPancreaticoBiliary Community of Surgical ONcologists: Clinical, Evaluative, and Prospective Trials Team (HPB CONCEPT Team)". Our national steering committee includes surgeons, experts in clinical trial design, and patient advocates. Through this planning grant we will reach national consensus on the top two research priorities for patients undergoing liver and pancreas surgery. Over the ensuing six months our collaborative group will develop these two concepts into full grant proposals for clinical trials. The establishment of the national HPB CONCEPT Team will enhance opportunities to bring together surgeons, researchers and patients in order to advance and share knowledge. Our first strategic meeting will be critical in setting the direction and priorities for research. This planning grant will allow us to select, refine, and develop two projects that will ultimately improve the lives of patients undergoing major liver or pancreas operations.