The American Cancer Society and Pfizer External Research & Grants are collaborating to distribute grants to address barriers to cancer care for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) individuals in cancer treatment. Seven institutions were notified last week that their proposals were accepted after a competitive review process. Each project will receive up to $250,000 for the grant period from Aug. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2027. The institutions receiving grants are:

The grants program supports quality improvement projects aimed at reducing cancer treatment disparities and strengthening collaborations to improve cancer care for AIAN and NHPI individuals facing cancer, with an emphasis on addressing cultural and geographic barriers. Each project includes a planning phase that will engage community organizations in identifying barriers and needs unique to the AIAN and/or NHPI population served by the awarded organization. Awarded projects include activities such as the development of culturally informed patient navigation programs, implementation of a care coordination model for integrating Community Health Workers (CHW) into cancer care, and facilitation of a hub-and-spoke approach to care between navigators, community primary care and specialty care providers, and comprehensive cancer centers.

The Patient Support Implementation Science team will administer the grant program in collaboration with Pfizer.

"Our previous partnership grant programs with Pfizer have successfully removed barriers to screening and care for populations disproportionately affected by breast and prostate cancer disparities," said Dr. Laura Makaroff, senior vice president, Cancer Prevention. "We are looking forward to building on that success with the selected grantees and breaking down more barriers to essential cancer care for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) individuals."