Announcement from SIO President: PCORI Funding Award for the IMAGINE Project

December 3, 2024

As President of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO), I am happy to announce the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) funding award to Principal Investigator Dr. Jun. J. Mao, Chief of the Integrative Medicine Service and Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), for the IMAGINE Project.

Link to PCORI website: https://www.pcori.org/research-results/2024/implementing-massage-and-acupuncture-oncology-care-imagine

Implementing Massage & Acupuncture Into Oncology Care (IMAGINE) will implement evidence-based oncology acupuncture and massage protocols in 35 academic and community cancer centers/programs across the United States. These protocols were previously established as safe and effective in the PCORI-funded IMPACT trial which compared acupuncture and massage for pain in people with advanced cancer. SIO actively participated in the submission process and will facilitate the education, implementation, and evaluation process. With the SIO-American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) clinical guidelines recommending acupuncture and massage for pain management for people with cancer, this project will enable these non-pharmacological interventions to become an integral part of a comprehensive cancer pain management strategy.

As the leading international, multidisciplinary organization in the field of integrative oncology, SIO looks forward to contributing to the IMAGINE project, which aligns with its mission to advance evidence-based, comprehensive integrative healthcare to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

Santosh Rao, MD, ABOIM 

President, Society for Integrative Oncology

Robert and Melissa Shearer Master Clinician in Integrative Oncology 

Medical Director of Integrative Oncology 

University Hospitals Connor Whole Health