THE CANCER INFORMATION-SERVICE RESEARCH CONSORTIUM - AN EMERGING LABORATORY FOR CANCER CONTROL RESEARCH

The Cancer Information Service (CIS) was established in 1975 by the Na tional Cancer Institute (NCI) to provide accurate, up-to-date informat ion about cancer to the nation. Although the CIS has in the past serve d as a venue for cancer communications research, up until very recentl y the research capacity of the CIS was underutilized. In 1993, this si tuation changed dramatically with funding from the NCI to form the Can cer Information Service Research Consortium (CISRC), In this article t he CISRC is described for the first time, including its research agend a and administrative structure. Early indications from the CISRC sugge st that the CIS can serve as one of the premiere laboratories in the c ountry for cancer communications and cancer control research. Several factors are suggested for the early success of the CISRC in sustaining this collaborative effort with the CIS, The progress that has been ma de by the CISRC could provide a useful model far other large health in formation programs to maximize their contributions to behavioral scien ce and health promotion research, as well as to establish their own pr ogram of policy-relevant research. (C) 1998 American Health Foundation and Academic Press.